BICYCLE FRAME TUBE

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a bicycle frame tube, in particular a down tube of a bicycle frame.

[0002] It is common practice to position the battery within the frame of an e-bike. Often, the battery is located in the area of ​​the downtube. For example, the battery is attached to the outside of the downtube, which may have an outward-facing recess in which the battery is secured. The battery, or rather its housing, is essentially located outside the frame. Such batteries may have a switch directly on or within the battery housing for turning the power on and off.

[0003] From DE 10 2016 010 338 and US2020 / 0062325, it is further known to arrange a battery inside the downtube. For this purpose, the downtube has a battery opening at its bottom bracket end, extending longitudinally along the downtube. The battery can be inserted into this opening from below. To switch the battery on and off, the battery arranged in the downtube is connected to an additional electrical switch via an electrical conductor. The electrical switch can be located, for example, on the handlebars or on the outside of a bicycle frame tube. A disadvantage of the known arrangement of the battery inside the downtube is that an electrical connection to the switch must be provided.

[0004] Furthermore, a bicycle frame tube with the features of the preamble of claim 1 is known from EP 3 372 482.

[0005] The object of the invention is to create a bicycle frame tube within which a battery can be arranged that can be switched on and off in a simple and reliable manner.

[0006] The problem is solved according to the invention by means of a bicycle frame tube, in particular a down tube with the features of claim 1.

[0007] The bicycle frame tube according to the invention, which is in particular a down tube of a bicycle frame, has a battery opening for inserting or removing a battery. The battery can, of course, have a battery housing that includes, for example, brackets for fixing it within the bicycle frame tube. According to the invention, the bicycle frame tube also has a switch opening. A mechanical switch is arranged in the switch opening. Thus, according to the invention, this mechanical switch arranged in the switch opening of the bicycle frame tube allows for the mechanical actuation of an on / off switch for the battery. No electrical connection between an electrical switch and the battery is required. This has the particular advantage that reliable switching on and off of the battery is possible.A plug contact, typically required for an electrical connection and made when the battery is inserted, is not necessary. Therefore, damage or corrosion of this contact, for example, cannot occur.

[0008] According to the invention, the mechanical switch comprises a switching element. When the battery is mounted, i.e., arranged in the bicycle frame tube, the switching element mechanically acts on an on / off switch provided on the battery. The on / off switch can also be arranged on the battery housing. In particular, the battery comprises, in addition to the battery housing, several cells, control electronics, retaining elements, and the like. The switching element acts mechanically on the on / off switch. Preferably, the on / off switch of the battery is a push-button switch and not a slide switch.

[0009] Furthermore, it is preferred that the mechanical switch according to the invention has a control element arranged on the outside of the bicycle frame tube for actuating the switching element. In a preferred embodiment, the control element is also a pressure-operated control element. In particular, operation is effected by pressing the control element with a finger. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the control element is formed integrally with the switching element.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the control element is held in the switch opening of the bicycle frame tube by a retaining element. Preferably, the retaining element is designed to hold the control element in a starting position. In particular, by pressing the control element, the user can move it from the starting position to the actuation position, in which the battery's on / off switch is mechanically activated. Preferably, the retaining element is designed such that the control element is automatically returned to its starting position after actuation. It is preferred that the retaining element is at least partially made of an elastic plastic material. The control element itself can be made of a harder plastic material.It is particularly preferred that the retaining element has a connecting element, especially one designed to be elastic, which carries the operating element.

[0011] Preferably, the control element is arranged laterally offset from a central plane of the bicycle frame tube. In the assembled state, the central plane of the bicycle frame tube is the vertical central plane of the bicycle frame, with which the bicycle frame is essentially symmetrical. In a preferred embodiment, an offset arrangement of the control element relative to the central plane has the advantage that the control element is more easily accessible, particularly while riding. Furthermore, it is preferred that the control element is arranged asymmetrically within the switch opening. This has the advantage that the switch opening itself can be arranged symmetrically with respect to the central plane, while simultaneously offsetting the control element.

[0012] Preferably, the mechanical switch is arranged in an area that is easily accessible, especially while riding. In particular, the mechanical switch is therefore arranged in a section of the bicycle frame tube located near the head tube. With respect to the length of the bicycle frame tube in which the battery is located, the mechanical switch is preferably positioned in the front third of the bicycle frame tube, i.e., in the third of the bicycle frame tube facing towards the head tube.

[0013] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the bicycle frame tube according to the invention, which is in particular a down tube, the battery opening is arranged longitudinally along the bicycle frame tube. Inserting or removing the battery is thus preferably done longitudinally along the bicycle frame tube. It is particularly preferred, especially when the bicycle frame tube is a down tube, that the battery opening is arranged on the bottom bracket side. In particular, the battery opening is formed through the bottom bracket-side end of the down tube. The battery can thus be inserted into the down tube from below through the battery opening in the area of ​​the bottom bracket.

[0014] Furthermore, the invention relates to a bicycle frame with a motor mount for an electric motor. The bicycle frame has several frame tubes, in particular a top tube, a down tube, a seat tube, and a head tube. At least one of the frame tubes is designed as described above and, in particular, has the mechanical switch described above. Preferably, a battery is arranged or can be inserted in the bicycle frame tube and is electrically connected to the electric motor. Preferably, the battery, in particular a battery housing, has an on / off switch that interacts with the mechanical switch, in particular the switching element of the mechanical switch. Preferably, the on / off switch of the battery is a push-button switch.

[0015] According to an independent invention, a battery can be inserted into a bicycle frame tube, in particular a down tube, from below, as described above. According to this independent invention, a charging plug and a charge level indicator are provided at the lower end of the battery, in particular at the battery housing. The lower end of the battery is the end located near the bottom bracket when the battery is inserted into the down tube. The charging plug is used to connect a power cable for charging the battery. According to the invention, the charge level indicator is provided adjacent to the charging plug. In particular, the charge level indicator has several LEDs. A different number of LEDs illuminate depending on the charge level.Positioning the charge level indicator directly near the charging plug has the advantage that the user receives immediate visual feedback on the battery's charge level when plugging in the charging plug, without having to look at another unit, turn on the system, or connect a corresponding display system.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the charging plug and the charge level indicator are arranged behind a cover. This cover protects the plug and the charge level indicator from contamination during operation.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment of this invention, it is not necessary for the charge level indicator provided directly next to the charging plug to be visible, since the battery charge level is preferably displayed on a display mounted on the handlebars during operation. This is advantageous because the battery charge level can thus be easily read at any time while riding.

[0018] The battery preferably has an on / off switch as described above. Furthermore, in addition to the charging connector, the battery has a connector for connecting to the electric motor. It is therefore preferred that the system can be switched on using the on / off switch when the motor connector is plugged in. Simultaneously, the display, which is preferably located on the handlebars, powers up, making the bicycle ready to ride. In this state, the charging connector and the charge level indicator are preferably concealed by the cover.

[0019] Once the charging plug is inserted, the charge level indicator will display the current charge status. If neither the motor plug nor the charging plug is inserted, the current battery charge level can be checked by pressing the battery's on / off switch. This will then be displayed again on the charge level indicator.

[0020] In particularly preferred embodiments, the invention relating to the charging plug and the arrangement of the charge status indicator is combined with the invention described above relating to the arrangement of a mechanical switch in the bicycle frame tube and is advantageously further developed by the preferred embodiments described.

[0021] The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings.

[0022] They show: Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a bicycle frame, Figure 2 is a schematic top view of a down tube in the area of ​​the switch, Figure 3 is a schematic sectional view of the down tube along line III-III in Figure 2 and Figure 4 a schematic side view of the down tube in the area of ​​the bottom bracket.

[0023] A bicycle frame typically comprises a top tube 10, a seat tube 12 connected to the top tube 10, a down tube 14, and a head tube 16 connected to both the top tube 10 and the down tube 14. Furthermore, a bottom bracket or motor housing 18 is provided, which serves to accommodate an electric motor of the bottom bracket. Other frame geometries are also known. In the illustrated embodiment, the down tube 14 is arranged such that a bottom bracket-side end 20 of the down tube 14 has a battery opening 22. The battery opening 22 is thus arranged with respect to a longitudinal direction 24 of the down tube 14. In the illustrated embodiment, a battery can be inserted into the down tube 14 from below in the longitudinal direction 24 through the battery opening 22.

[0024] In the illustrated embodiment, a mechanical switch 28 is located on an upper surface 26 of the down tube 14 in a region of the down tube 14 that points towards the head tube 16. Figure 2The mechanical switch 28 is arranged in a switch opening provided in the down tube 14. For this purpose, the switch 28 has a retaining element 32, made in particular of an elastic material. The retaining element 32 has a groove 34 which interacts with a projection 36. This holds the retaining element 32 in the opening 30. The retaining element 32 carries a switching element 38, which in the illustrated embodiment is formed integrally with an operating element 40. For this purpose, the retaining element 32 has a connecting element 35 made of an elastic material, which carries the operating element 40. The operating element 40 has a recess on its upper surface, so that the operating element 40 can be easily moved inwards with a finger towards a battery 42 arranged inside the down tube 14.Due to the elasticity of the retaining element 32, the operating element for actuating an on / off switch 44 of the battery 42 can be pushed inwards from its starting position and automatically returns from the actuating position to the starting position.

[0025] With reference to a framework middle level 46 ( Figure 2 The control element is arranged asymmetrically or laterally offset. In the illustrated embodiment, the switch opening 30 is essentially oval, or has a larger dimension perpendicular to the frame's central plane 46 than in the longitudinal direction 24 of the down tube 14. The switch opening 30 is therefore symmetrical with respect to the frame's central plane 46.

[0026] In a further preferred embodiment, which is particularly combined with the embodiment described above, a charging plug 47 is provided in the region of the lower end 20 of the down tube, i.e., in the bottom bracket area of ​​the down tube. The charging plug 47 is part of the battery 42. The battery 42 can be charged by inserting a charging cable into the charging plug 47. A charge status indicator 48 with several LEDs is located directly next to the charging plug 47. Both the charging plug 47 and the charge status indicator 48 can be closed with a cover or lid (not shown).

[0027] When a power cable is plugged into the charging plug 47, the current charge level of the battery 42 is displayed via the charge level indicator 48.

[0028] Furthermore, even if the motor connector is not plugged in, i.e., if there is no connection between the battery 42 and the electric motor, the control element 40 or the on / off switch 44 can be operated directly. This will display the charge status via the charge indicator 48, even if no charging cable is connected to the charging connector 47. This can be done easily, for example, even with the battery removed.

Claims

1. A bicycle frame tube, in particular a down tube, comprising a battery (42), a battery opening (22) for inserting or removing the battery (42), a switch opening (30), and a mechanical switch (28) arranged in the switch opening (30), characterized in that the switch (28) comprises a switching element (38) which, with the battery (42) mounted, mechanically acts upon an on / off switch (44) provided at the battery (42).

2. The bicycle frame tube according to claim 1, characterized in that the switch (28) comprises an operating element (40) arranged on an outside (26) of the bicycle frame tube (14) for actuating the switching element (38).

3. The bicycle frame tube according to claim 1, characterized in that the operating element (40) is integrally formed with the switching element (38).

4. The bicycle frame tube according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the operating element (40) is held in the switch opening (30) via a holding element (32).

5. The bicycle frame tube according to claim 4, characterized in that the holding element (32) is configured such that it holds the operating element (40) in an initial position and automatically returns it from an actuating position into the initial position.

6. The bicycle frame tube according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the holding element (32), in particular a connecting element (35) of the holding element (32), is at least partially made from an elastic material or is of an elastic configuration, wherein the connecting element (35) preferably supports the operating element (40).

7. The bicycle frame tube according to any one of claims 2-6, characterized in that the operating element (40) is laterally offset relative to a center plane (46) of the bicycle frame.

8. The bicycle frame tube according to any one of claims 2-7, characterized in that the operating element (40) is asymmetrically arranged in the switch opening (30).

9. The bicycle frame tube according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that the switch (28) is arranged in an area of the bicycle frame tube, in particular the down tube, which is arranged in the vicinity of a head tube (16) of the bicycle frame.

10. The bicycle frame tube according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that the battery opening (22) is arranged in the longitudinal direction (24) of the bicycle frame tube (14)11. The bicycle frame tube according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that the battery opening (22) is arranged on the bottom bracket side, in particular constitutes the bottom-bracket-side end (22) of the down tube (14).

12. A bicycle frame comprising a motor accommodating unit (18) for accommodating an electric motor and a plurality of frame tubes (10, 12, 14, 16), wherein at least one of the frame tubes (14) is configured as a bicycle frame tube according to any one of claims 1-11.

13. The bicycle frame according to claim 12, comprising a battery (42) arranged in the bicycle frame tube (14), which battery is electrically connected to the electric motor14. The bicycle frame according to claim 13, characterized in that the battery (42), in particular a battery housing, comprises an on / off switch (44) which cooperates with the mechanical switch (28), in particular the switching element (38).