PEDELEC

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a pedelec with a pedal drive, an electric support motor and a pedelec control device for controlling the support motor that assists the pedal drive.

[0002] In this context, a pedelec is understood to mean exclusively a bicycle equipped with an electric support motor that works solely to provide assistance, i.e., is only active when the cyclist generates a pedaling drive torque.

[0003] The pedelec has a control unit, a speed sensor for determining the pedelec's speed, and a pedal torque sensor for determining the pedal torque applied, for example, at the pedal axle. The control unit is informally connected to the speed sensor and the pedal torque sensor and receives pedelec speed and pedal torque information from these sensors.

[0004] From WO 2015 / 007423 (D1) a pedelec with a control device is known that includes a button with which a boost readiness can be activated. The boost increases the general level of assistance both while riding and when starting off. To trigger the boost during readiness, the brake activation or the amount of torque applied by the rider is evaluated, and it is only activated when a certain threshold of rider torque is exceeded.

[0005] From DE 10 2016 107 784 A1, a control device is known that has two buttons by which the pedal torque-dependent general support level can be gradually increased or decreased. The general support level is a pedal torque-dependent function that defines the degree of support provided by the support motor to the pedals. The general support level can, for example, be set relatively low to require a certain amount of physical pedaling effort and / or to ensure a long range. However, a relatively low general support level can be particularly unpleasant or bothersome when frequent starts from a standstill are required, as can occur, for example, in urban areas. With frequent starts, having only a relatively low support level may be perceived as unpleasant.It is therefore provided that a start-up boost function can be activated via a separate button on the control device, which increases the overall level of support after the pedelec has come to a standstill when starting off, until, for example, a certain speed is reached.

[0006] The object of the invention is to create a pedelec with a control device by which a starting boost function can be easily switched on and off.

[0007] This problem is solved according to the invention with a pedelec having the features of claim 1.

[0008] According to the invention, one of the two buttons for incrementally changing the general support level, which is dependent on pedaling torque, has a dual function. The control device is designed such that the secondary function of the respective button is only activated when the pedelec is stationary. When the pedelec is stationary, pressing the respective button activates a start-up boost function, so that when starting from a standstill, the overall support level is increased by a boost level above the general support level.

[0009] The control unit therefore does not have a separate switch or button for operating the acceleration boost function. This keeps the hardware of the control unit simple and results in a straightforward and logical operating concept.

[0010] The start-up boost function is designed to deactivate after a single use. Therefore, if desired, the start-up boost function must be explicitly activated via the relevant button each time the e-bike comes to a standstill.

[0011] Preferably, the button for activating the start-up boost function is the button used to gradually increase the general level of support.

[0012] Preferably, the start-up boost function can be deactivated by pressing the relevant button again when the e-bike is stationary. The start-up boost function thus remains activated until it is explicitly deactivated by pressing the relevant button again.

[0013] Preferably, the control device is designed such that the boost function terminates upon reaching a termination criterion. This termination criterion can be, for example, a time value or a pedelec speed. For instance, the termination criterion could be a few seconds as a time value or, as a speed criterion, 5 km / h. However, reaching the termination criterion and ending the boost function does not necessarily deactivate the starting boost function.

[0014] According to a preferred embodiment, the pedelec has a tilt sensor that determines the pitch angle of the pedelec and is informally connected to the control device. The control device is designed such that the degree of boost is dependent on the pitch angle of the pedelec. The boost is therefore not the same under all conditions, but is adjusted gradually depending on the pitch angle of the pedelec. For an upward pitch angle, the boost is set higher than for a downward pitch angle, in each case viewed in the direction of travel.

[0015] Preferably, the boost level is set independently of the measured pedaling torque and can, for example, result in the maximum technically or legally permissible level of support.

[0016] An embodiment of the invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. The drawings show: Figure 1a pedelec with a pedal drive, an electric support motor and a pedelec control device, Figure 2 the control device of the Figure 1 in schematic representation, and Figure 3 a control unit with the control device of Figure 1 and 2 .

[0017] In the Figure 1 A typical pedelec 10 is shown schematically, comprising a pedal drive 16 with two crank arms and pedals attached to each end, an electric bottom bracket support motor 14 assisting the pedal drive 16, an electric battery 12, and an electronic control unit 20' on the handlebars, which includes a pedelec control device 20. The support motor 14 is operated exclusively in a supportive capacity by the control device 20.

[0018] The support motor 14 has a pedal torque sensor 44, which quantitatively measures the torque applied via the pedal drive 16. The pedelec 10 has an inclination sensor 42, which determines the pitch angle N of the pedelec 10 relative to the Earth's horizontal plane H, i.e., the angle N between the Earth's horizontal plane H and the pedelec's ground plane h. Furthermore, the pedelec 10 has a pedelec speed detector 40, which, for example, detects the pedelec's speed over ground by measuring the rotational speed of the rear wheel 41 of the pedelec 10.

[0019] All the aforementioned sensors 40, 42, 44 are connected to the control device 20 or to a control processor 30 therein via corresponding signal lines or alternatively wirelessly. Furthermore, the control device 20 is also directly connected to the support motor 14 and the battery 12 via corresponding signal lines.

[0020] The control unit 20' or control device 20 has a graphic display 22 and a button 25 for gradually increasing the general support level dependent on pedaling torque, as well as a button 26 for gradually decreasing the general support level dependent on pedaling torque. Furthermore, the control unit 20' has a small joystick 29 for menu control, a headlight switch 27 for switching the headlight on and off, and an operating switch 28 for switching the control device 20 on and off.

[0021] The control device 20 further comprises a launch boost command memory 36 and a termination criterion memory 34. Both memories 34 and 36 can be implemented as hardware or software. The launch boost command memory 36 stores whether a launch boost function is activated or deactivated. The termination criterion memory 34 stores the termination criterion for ending a boost, for example, a limit speed of 7 km / h or a time value of 2.0 seconds.

[0022] The two buttons 25 and 26 are used to gradually adjust the general level of motor assistance, which is dependent on pedaling torque, for example in 5-6 increments. This allows the general level of electric motor assistance from the support motor 14 to be set, which can be designed to be essentially proportional to the pedaling torque applied by the rider.

[0023] The boost button 25 has a dual function: when the pedelec 10 is stationary, pressing it once does not increase the general support level, but rather activates a start-up boost function, which is stored in the start-up boost command memory 36. The stationary state of the pedelec 10 is detected by a quasi-continuous query of the measured values ​​from the bicycle speed detector 40. If the start-up boost function is activated, the support level is increased by a boost value above the general support level when the pedelec is subsequently started from a standstill.

[0024] The boost level is gradually adjusted depending on the e-bike's incline value reported by the tilt sensor 42. The boost level itself is independent of the pedaling torque and can potentially be so high that the overall level of assistance reaches the technically and / or legally permissible maximum.

[0025] Alternatively, the boost increase can always be so large that the technically and / or legally permissible upper limit is reached in any case.

[0026] During acceleration with the start-up boost function activated, the control processor 30 quasi-continuously determines the time elapsed since the start-up or the current pedelec speed. As soon as the abort criterion stored in the abort criterion memory 34 is reached, the boost is deactivated, but not the start-up boost function.

[0027] The start-up boost function can be deactivated actively or passively in two ways: It is deactivated passively if the e-bike has not been stationary for an extended period, for example, more than 5 minutes. In this case, it is assumed that a typical urban speed profile no longer applies, and therefore the start-up boost function is no longer needed. The start-up boost function is also deactivated actively by pressing the boost button (number 25) while the e-bike is stationary.

[0028] Basically, when the start-up boost function is activated, the activated start-up boost function is visually indicated in the display 22 by a flashing boost function indicator 24.

Claims

1. Pedelec (10) with a pedal drive (16), an electric assistance motor (14) and a pedelec control device (20) for controlling the pedal bearing assistance motor (14) supporting the pedal drive (16), wherein the control device (20) is connected to a speed sensor (40) and a pedal torque sensor (44), and is provided with a pushbutton (25, 26) for the stepwise change of the pedal torque-dependent general assistance degree, and wherein the control device (20) is designed in such a way that when the pedelec is at a standstill and when the assistance degree pushbutton (25, 26) is actuated at the same time, a start-up boost function is switched on, so that during the start-up following the standstill, the assistance degree is raised beyond the general assistance degree by a boost increase, and wherein the control device (20) is designed in such a way that the start-up boost function is switched off after a single start-up.

2. Pedelec (10) according to claim 1, wherein the control device (20) is designed in such a way that the start-up boost function is switched off by a repeated actuation of the pushbutton (25, 26) when the pedelec is at a standstill.

3. Pedelec (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the control device (20) is designed in such a way that the boost increase is ended after an abort criterion has been reached.

4. Pedelec (10) according to claim 3, wherein the abort criterion is a time value or the speed.

5. Pedelec (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein an inclination sensor (42) is provided which is connected to the control device (20), wherein the control device (20) is designed in such a way that the degree of boost increase is dependent on the pedelec pitch angle N.

6. Pedelec (10) according to one of the preceding claims 1-5, wherein the control device (20) is designed in such a way that the boost increase is independent of the pedaling torque.