Electric three-wheeled bicycle

Abstract

To provide an electric three-wheeled bicycle that can be changed to electric motor control when pushing the bicycle by a simple operation.SOLUTION: The problem is solved by the electric three-wheeled bicycle including a protruding conductive rubber protruding from a handlebar post with an insulating member sandwiched therebetween, a horizontal arm having one end connected to the handlebar post so as to be rotatable up and down and having a conductive coating applied to the area where the arm comes into contact with the conductive rubber, an auxiliary output adjustment grip provided at the end of the handlebar and rotatable forwards and backwards and increasing output when turned backwards, a rotation angle detector for detecting the rotation angle of the auxiliary output adjustment grip, and a vehicle speed sensor for detecting vehicle speed. When a control unit detects that a current has flowed through the conductive rubber and the vehicle speed sensor detects that the vehicle speed is below a predetermined vehicle speed, the control unit controls the output torque of the electric motor based on the rotation angle of the rotation angle detector to vary the push-walking speed below the predetermined speed and output the same.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric three-wheeled bicycle with two front wheels that can reduce the force required to pedal when riding and the force required to push the bicycle when walking. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses an electric bicycle equipped with an electric motor, which is equipped with a control unit that switches between a first mode in which a first auxiliary driving force from the electric motor is added to a human-powered driving force based on the force applied to the pedals to cause the bicycle to travel, and a second mode in which a second auxiliary driving force from the electric motor is added to the body to push the bicycle or the second auxiliary driving force is added to cause the bicycle to travel by itself, and a human detection sensor that detects people operating the electric bicycle, and the control unit adjusts the second auxiliary driving force based on the positional relationship between the person detected by the human detection sensor and the electric bicycle when the second mode is being executed.

[0003] Patent Document 2 discloses an electric bicycle equipped with an electric motor, which includes a control unit that switches between a first mode in which a first auxiliary driving force from the electric motor is added to a human driving force based on the force applied to the pedals to travel, and a second mode in which a second auxiliary driving force from the electric motor is added to a pushing force applied to the body to push the bicycle or the second auxiliary driving force is added to cause the bicycle to self-propel; an operation unit that accepts operations to execute the second mode; and a saddle on which a user sits, which is switchable between a normal position in which the seating surface of the saddle is in a normal position, and an irregular position in which the seating surface of the saddle is away from the normal position, and the control unit executes the second mode when the operation unit accepts the operation, and the operation unit is located in a position that is hidden when the saddle is in the normal position and is exposed when the saddle is in the irregular position.

[0004] Patent document 3 discloses an electrically assisted bicycle characterized in that it is configured with a handlebar formed so that both left and right ends extend substantially rearward, slide grips arranged to be slidable along the axial direction of both left and right ends of the handlebar, a pressure detection means for detecting the pressure applied to each of the slide grips in the axial forward direction, and a controller programmed to execute push-walking motor control which calculates the human-powered push-walking driving force of the body based on the pressure of the slide grips input from the pressure detection means, and outputs to the electric motor a push-walking assist force corresponding to the magnitude of the push-walking driving force. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-123474 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2020-82978 A [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-59557 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The inventions of Patent Documents 1 to 3 involve a system in which, to switch a three-wheeled electric bicycle with two front wheels from normal riding mode to push-walk mode, the mode is switched when a manual switch and a sensor that detects whether the saddle is tilted up or down are turned on, or when a sensor that measures the fore-and-aft positional relationship between the manual switch, the saddle, and the person's head is turned on, or when a pedal force sensor, left and right grip pressure sensors, a vehicle speed sensor, and a saddle switch are turned on. This means that the control is complex and operation is cumbersome.

[0007] The present invention was devised in consideration of these problems, and its objective is to provide an electric three-wheeled bicycle that can be changed, with a simple operation, from an electric motor control state for normal riding to an electric motor control state for pushing the bicycle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The electric three-wheeled bicycle described in claim 1 is an electric three-wheeled bicycle with two front wheels and an electric motor, comprising: a protruding conductive rubber protruding from an underside of a horizontal member fixed to a handle post near the left-right tip end with an insulating member sandwiched therebetween; a horizontal arm covered with a conductive coating in the area of ​​contact with the conductive rubber, one end of which is connected below the horizontal member of the handle post so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction and the other end of which is connected to a vertical arm connected to the left front wheel or the right front wheel so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction; and a power steering mechanism provided at the end of the left handlebar that can rotate forward and backward and that increases output when rotated backward. The device comprises an auxiliary output adjustment grip, a rotation angle detector that detects the rotation angle of the auxiliary output adjustment grip, a vehicle speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed, and a control unit connected to at least the conductive rubber, the rotation angle detector, the vehicle speed sensor, and the electric motor, and is characterized in that when the control unit detects that a current is flowing through the conductive rubber and the vehicle speed sensor detects that the vehicle speed is below a predetermined vehicle speed, the control unit controls the output torque of the electric motor so as to vary the pushing speed from a low speed when the rotation angle is small to a predetermined limit speed when the rotation angle is maximum, according to the rotation angle of the rotation angle detector.

[0009] The electric three-wheeled bicycle described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in claim 1, after the control unit first detects that current has flowed through the conductive rubber, it controls the state in which current flows through the conductive rubber to be maintained unless it detects off a predetermined number of times consecutively at a fixed time interval. Effect of the Invention

[0010] The invention described in claim 1 enables a user to easily push an electric tricycle by simply grasping the handlebars with both hands, tilting the handle post, and rotating the auxiliary output adjustment grip backwards at will.

[0011] The invention described in claim 2 has the concern that chattering may occur between the conductive rubber and the horizontal arm when the road is uneven, but it has the effect of turning off the electric motor only when the electric motor is detected as off a predetermined number of times in succession at a constant time interval, thereby making it possible to provide a stable auxiliary output even if the road is uneven. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic explanatory left side view of an electric three-wheeled bicycle according to the present invention; FIG. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic front view of an electric three-wheeled bicycle according to the present invention; FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a schematic front view illustrating the handle post when tilted to the left. [Figure 4] 3 is an explanatory diagram of the relationship between the conductive rubber and the horizontal arm, (a) is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 2 when the handle post is in an upright position and not in contact, and (b) is an enlarged view of part B in FIG. 3 when the handle post is tilted to the left and in contact. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of parts related to a push-walk mode of the electric tricycle of the present invention. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing a control method for a push-walk mode of the electric three-wheeled bicycle of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] As shown in Fig. 1 or 5, the electric tricycle 1 of the present invention can control the electric motor in an assist mode during normal driving, in which the power switch 61 is turned on and the user sits on the saddle 71 and rotates the pedals 72 to adjust the output of the electric motor 2 according to the magnitude of the torque of the pedal force torque sensor 63 and the speed of the vehicle speed sensor 12, and can control the electric motor as an auxiliary in a push-walk mode when the user is not seated on the saddle 71 and walks while pushing the electric tricycle 1. The assist mode can be set, for example, by the operation button 62 to a strong mode for use on uphill slopes or a weak mode for use on flat roads, and it can also be set so that the assist mode cannot be used at a maximum driving speed of 16km / h or more. Necessary information such as vehicle speed is displayed on the display unit 64.

[0014] As shown in Fig. 1, the electric three-wheeled bicycle 1 of the present invention is an electric three-wheeled bicycle with two front wheels, and includes a body frame 9, a saddle 71 provided at the upper end of the center of the body frame 9, a crank gear section 73 and pedals 72 provided at the lower end of the center of the body frame 9, a chain 74 connecting the crank gear section 73 and the rear wheel, a battery 28 detachably attached to the center of the body frame 9 or to the handle post 20 side, an electric motor 2 attached around the crank or to the front or rear wheel, a cylindrical metal handle post 20 attached to the front end of the body frame 9, a metal steering shaft 21 inserted into the handle post 20, a handle bar 22 fixed to the upper end of the steering shaft 21, a handle grip 23 and a brake lever 24 provided at the end of the handle bar 22, etc. The handle grip 23 at the end of the left handle bar 22 is an auxiliary power adjustment grip 6 that can be manually rotated forward or backward.

[0015] In order to provide optimal steering performance without being affected by the inclination of the vehicle body, the electric three-wheeled bicycle 1 of the present invention is equipped with a link section 50 having a right vertical arm 51a fixed to the wheel axle of the right front wheel 31, a left vertical arm 51b fixed to the wheel axle of the left front wheel 32, a right lateral arm 5a having one end connected to the handle post 20 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction and the other end connected to the upper end of the right vertical arm 51a so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, a left lateral arm 5b having one end connected to the handle post 20 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction and the other end connected to the upper end of the left vertical arm 51b so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and a lower lateral arm 52 connected at its center to the handle post 20 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction and having left and right ends connected to the lower end of the left vertical arm 51b and the lower end of the right vertical arm 51a so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0016] The electric three-wheeled bicycle 1 of the present invention is a technology that assists the pushing force when the user walks while pushing the electric three-wheeled bicycle 1. The inventors came up with the idea of ​​the present invention by noting that when a user walks while pushing the electric three-wheeled bicycle 1, it is easier to push the handlebar 24 forward if the handle post 20 is tilted towards the user and brought closer to the front of the user.

[0017] As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, an electric three-wheeled bicycle 1 of the present invention is an electric three-wheeled bicycle 1 with two front wheels and an electric motor 2, and includes: a protruding conductive rubber 4 provided with an insulating member 19 sandwiched between an underside of a horizontal member 3 fixed to a handle post 20 near the left-right tip end thereof; a horizontal arm 5b covered with a conductive coating 18 in the area of ​​contact with the conductive rubber 4; a horizontal arm 5b connected at one end to a position below the horizontal member 3 of the handle post 20 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and connected at the other end to vertical arms 51a, 51b connected to the left front wheel 31 or the right front wheel 32 of the front two wheels so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction; The device comprises an auxiliary output adjustment grip 6 which increases output when turned in a direction, a rotation angle detector 11 which detects the rotation angle of the auxiliary output adjustment grip 6, a vehicle speed sensor 12 which detects the vehicle speed, and a control unit 10 which is connected to at least the conductive rubber 4, the rotation angle detector 11, the vehicle speed sensor 12 and the electric motor 2, and when the control unit 10 detects that a current is flowing through the conductive rubber 4 and the vehicle speed sensor 12 detects that the vehicle speed is below a predetermined vehicle speed, the control unit 10 controls the output torque of the electric motor 2 according to the rotation angle of the rotation angle detector 11 so as to vary the pushing speed from a low speed when the rotation angle is small to a predetermined limit speed when the rotation angle is maximum.

[0018] First, the means for detecting that the user has tilted the handle post 20 towards the user is a protruding conductive rubber 4 which is provided with an insulating member 19 sandwiched between the underside of the horizontal member 3 fixed to the handle post 20 near the left-right tip thereof and which is attached to the underside of the horizontal member 3 fixed to the handle post 20. One end of the horizontal arm 5a, 5b is connected to the horizontal member 3 of the handle post 20 below the horizontal member 3 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and the other end of the horizontal arm 5a, 5b is connected to the vertical arm 51a, 51b connected to the left or right wheel axle of the front two wheels so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction. The horizontal arms 5a, 5b are covered with a conductive coating 18 in the area where they come into contact with the conductive rubber 4, causing detection when a current flows.

[0019] A long metal horizontal member 3 is fixed to the upright handle post 20 by fastening means or the like, and an insulating member 19 having electrical insulation properties is sandwiched between the underside of the horizontal member 3 near the left-right end, and a pointed protruding conductive rubber 4 is provided to protrude downward. The horizontal member 3 and the conductive rubber 4 are kept electrically insulated by the insulating member 19. The conductive rubber 4 is connected to the control unit 10 by wiring.

[0020] The conductive rubber 4 is a composite conductive material that uses a rubber matrix in a conductive material such as black carbon or metal, and has flexibility and vibration absorption properties, so it is used as a contact member. For example, silicone rubber is used as the rubber.

[0021] The handle post 20 further includes horizontal arms 5a and 5b, one end of which is connected below the horizontal member 3 of the handle post 20 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and the other end of which is connected to vertical arms 51a and 51b connected to the left front wheel 31 or the right front wheel 32 of the front two wheels so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction. The horizontal arms 5a and 5b are components of the approximately link section 50, and it is assumed that the left side is the most commonly tilted side when the user pushes the handle post 20. The following description will be given of the case where the left horizontal arm 5b abuts against the conductive rubber 4.

[0022] The horizontal arm 5b is made of metal and is electrically conductively connected to the handle post 20 which is connected to the body frame 9, and therefore functions as an earth. In order to exert the function as an earth, a conductive coating 18 is applied to the area in contact with the conductive rubber 4, as shown in Fig. 4. The conductive coating 18 may be nickel plating, gold plating, silver plating, copper plating, or other conductive plating, or a conductive paint using a conductive metal such as silver or nickel copper.

[0023] When the handle post 20 is tilted as shown in Fig. 3 and the conductive rubber 4 comes into contact with the horizontal arm 5b as shown in Fig. 4(b), a current flows and the tilt is detected. However, when walking on uneven ground, chattering may occur between the conductive rubber 4 and the horizontal arm 5b, causing unstable control. Therefore, after the control unit 10 first detects that a current has flowed through the conductive rubber 4, it controls the state in which a current flows through the conductive rubber 4 to be maintained unless it detects off a predetermined number of times in succession at a fixed time interval.

[0024] For example, the electric motor 2 may be controlled to be turned off only when off detection is detected three times in succession at one second intervals, or the electric motor 2 may be controlled to be turned off only when off detection is detected two times in succession at 0.5 second intervals. The predetermined interval or the predetermined number of consecutive times may be set arbitrarily.

[0025] The auxiliary output adjustment grip 6 is provided at the end of the left handlebar 22, and is gripped by the user's hand to rotate it forward or backward. The auxiliary output adjustment grip 6 is provided with an elastic body having a biasing force that always rotates it forward, and is provided with a rotation angle detector 11 that detects the rotation angle of the auxiliary output adjustment grip 6. When the auxiliary output adjustment grip 6 is at the forward end, the control unit 10 controls the electric motor 2 not to output a signal to drive the electric motor 2, and when the electric motor 2 is rotated backward, the control unit 10 increases the output of the electric motor 2 according to the rotation angle to gradually increase the traveling speed of the electric tricycle 1.

[0026] The vehicle speed sensor 12 may be, for example, a hall sensor, and may be any sensor capable of measuring the vehicle speed of the electric tricycle 1. A vehicle speed signal from the vehicle speed sensor 12 is sent to the control unit 10.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 10 is connected to at least a power switch 61, an operation button 62, a pedal force torque sensor 63, a vehicle speed sensor 12, a conductive rubber 4, a rotation angle detector 11, a battery 28, an electric motor 2, and a display unit 64.

[0028] The control unit 10 operates in a power switch on step 101 as shown in FIG. 6, and when the handle post 20 is in an upright position as shown in FIG. 2, no current flows through the conductive rubber 4 in a conductive rubber circuit step 102, so that an assist mode control step 107 is executed.

[0029] When the handle post 20 is tilted as shown in Fig. 3 from a state in which the conductive rubber 4 is separated from the horizontal arm 5b as shown in Fig. 4(a), the conductive rubber 4 connected to the control unit 10 comes into contact with the horizontal arm 5b on the earth side as shown in Fig. 4(b), and a current flows from the conductive rubber 4 to the horizontal arm 5b on the earth side. Then, the conductive rubber circuit step 102 becomes conductive.

[0030] Next, in vehicle speed sensor detection step 103, it is detected whether the vehicle speed is below walking speed or exceeds walking speed. For example, if the maximum vehicle speed when pushing and walking is set to 6 km / h, the reference vehicle speed for judgment in vehicle speed sensor detection step 103 is set to 8 km / h. If the vehicle speed is 8 km / h or more, the control unit 10 controls the vehicle to enter a pushing and walking mode without auxiliary output, and if the vehicle speed is less than 8 km / h, the control unit 10 switches to a pushing and walking mode with auxiliary output.

[0031] Next is a rotation angle detection step 104. In the rotation angle detection step 104, the user manually turns the auxiliary output adjustment grip 6, which is provided at the end of the left handlebar 22 and can rotate in the forward and backward directions, and the output increases when turned backward. The auxiliary output adjustment grip 6 is provided with an elastic body having a biasing force that always rotates it forward, and when it is not turned backward by hand, the rotation angle position of the auxiliary output adjustment grip 6 is at the front end, so that a signal to operate the electric motor 2 is not output. Therefore, when the angle detected by the rotation angle detector 11 is 0°, the control unit 10 controls the mode to enter a push-walk mode without auxiliary output 106, in which the user pushes the electric tricycle 1 only with the pushing force of the user.

[0032] When the user rotates the auxiliary output adjustment grip 6 backwards with his / her hand, the control unit 10 reads the rotation angle from the rotation angle detector 11, and operates the electric motor 2 to vary the vehicle speed slightly within a range of 0 to 6 km / h depending on the rotation angle of the auxiliary output adjustment grip 6, with the vehicle speed set to a maximum of 6 km / h, thereby executing control of the push-walking mode with auxiliary output. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1. Electric tricycle 2 Electric motor 3 Horizontal members 4. Conductive rubber 5 Horizontal arm 6 Auxiliary output adjustment grip 9 Body frame 10 Control section 11 Rotation angle detector 12 Vehicle speed sensor 18 Conductive Coating 19 Insulating materials 20 Handle post 21 Steering axis 22 Handlebar 23 Handle grip 24 Brake lever 28 Battery 31 Right front wheel 32 Left front wheel 50 Short link section 51 Vertical Arm 52 Lower horizontal arm 61 Power switch 62 Operation button 63 Pedal force torque sensor 64 Display section 71 Saddle 72 Pedals 73 Crank gear section 74 Chain 101 Power switch on 102 Conductive rubber circuit 103 Vehicle speed sensor detection 104 Rotation angle detection 105 Pushing with auxiliary power 106 Pushing without auxiliary output 107 Assist mode control

Claims

1. An electric three-wheeled bicycle with two front wheels and an electric motor, a protruding conductive rubber provided on a lower surface of a horizontal member fixed to a handle post near a left-right end of the horizontal member with an insulating material sandwiched therebetween; a horizontal arm having one end connected to a lower end of the horizontal member of the handle post so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and having the other end connected to a vertical arm connected to a left front wheel or a right front wheel of the front two wheels so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, the horizontal arm being covered with a conductive coating in an abutment area with the conductive rubber; an auxiliary power adjustment grip provided at the end of the left handlebar, which can be rotated forward and backward and increases power when rotated backward; a rotation angle detector for detecting a rotation angle of the auxiliary output adjustment grip; A vehicle speed sensor for detecting a vehicle speed; a control unit connected to at least the conductive rubber, the rotation angle detector, the vehicle speed sensor, and the electric motor, An electric tricycle characterized in that, when the control unit detects that a current is flowing through the conductive rubber and the vehicle speed sensor detects that the vehicle speed is below a predetermined vehicle speed, the control unit controls the output torque of the electric motor so as to vary the pushing speed from a low speed when the rotation angle is small to a predetermined limit speed when the rotation angle is maximum, in accordance with the rotation angle of the rotation angle detector.

2. The electric three-wheeled bicycle according to claim 1, characterized in that, after the control unit first detects that a current has flowed through the conductive rubber, it controls the state in which a current flows through the conductive rubber to be maintained unless it detects an off state a predetermined number of times consecutively at a certain time interval.

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