Control device and transmission system

Abstract

To provide a controller and gearshift system capable of avoiding wasteful gear shifting and enabling smooth gear shifting.SOLUTION: A controller 20 includes a control unit 24. The control unit 24 references gear shifting direction information concerning a gear shifting direction of a gearshift unit 12 of a human power-driven vehicle 1, and controls a gear shifting standby time of the gearshift unit 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device and a transmission system. [Background technology]

[0002] A human-powered vehicle can change the gear ratio of the power transmission mechanism by controlling a transmission with multiple gears. In recent years, human-powered vehicles equipped with a control device that automatically controls the transmission have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a bicycle transmission control device that controls the transmission based on the bicycle's speed or crank rotation speed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3522226 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There is a demand for a control device that can control the transmission under conditions that are more suited to the driving state of the human-powered vehicle.

[0005] The present invention is devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a control device and a gear change system that can avoid unnecessary gear changes and enable smooth gear changes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, a control device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a control unit configured to control a shift standby time of a transmission of a human-powered vehicle by referring to shift direction information related to the shift direction of the transmission of the human-powered vehicle.

[0007] According to the control device of the first aspect, the shift standby time of the transmission is set in accordance with the shift direction information, so that the transmission can be controlled under conditions more suited to the running state of the human-powered vehicle.

[0008] In the control device of a second aspect according to the first aspect, the gear shift direction includes an upshift direction in which the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle increases, and a downshift direction in which the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle decreases.

[0009] According to the control device of the second aspect, the transmission can be controlled under conditions that are more suited to the driving state of the human-powered vehicle, depending on whether the transmission is upshifted or downshifted.

[0010] In the control device of a third aspect according to the second aspect, the control unit is configured to set the shift waiting time for a shift in an upshift direction to a first shift waiting time, and the control unit is configured to set the shift waiting time for a shift in a downshift direction to a second shift waiting time.

[0011] According to the control device of the third aspect, the shift standby time of the transmission is set depending on whether the transmission is upshifted or downshifted, so that the transmission can be controlled under conditions more suited to the running state of the human-powered vehicle.

[0012] In the control device of a fourth aspect according to the third aspect, the control unit is configured to control the shift wait time in a first state so that the second shift wait time is longer than the first shift wait time, and the control unit is configured to control the shift wait time in a second state different from the first state so that the second shift wait time is shorter than the first shift wait time.

[0013] According to the control device of the fourth aspect, the gear shift standby time of the transmission is set depending on whether the traveling state of the human-powered vehicle is in state 1 or state 2. This makes it possible to control the transmission under conditions that are more suited to the traveling state of the human-powered vehicle.

[0014] In the control device of a fifth aspect according to the first aspect, the control unit is configured to transmit a control signal including the gear shift direction information to the gear shift device.

[0015] According to the control device of the fifth aspect, the transmission changes gears in response to a control signal including information about the gear-shift direction, so that the transmission can change gears in an appropriate direction.

[0016] In the control device of a sixth aspect according to the fifth aspect, the control unit is configured to output the control signal based on an operation input to a gear shift operating device.

[0017] According to the control device of the sixth aspect, the control device outputs a control signal based on the operation input to the gear shift operating device, which allows gear changes to be performed at more appropriate timing.

[0018] In the control device of the seventh aspect according to the first aspect, the shift waiting time includes at least three waiting times.

[0019] According to the control device of the seventh aspect, at least three shift wait times are set depending on the shift direction of the transmission, so that the transmission can be controlled under conditions that are more suited to the running state of the human-powered vehicle.

[0020] In the control device of an eighth aspect according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the control unit is configured to send a first control signal to the transmission device, and when the shift waiting time has elapsed, to send a second control signal to the transmission device.

[0021] According to the control device of the eighth aspect, when the shift standby time has elapsed since the transmission of the first control signal, the control unit transmits the second control signal to the transmission, allowing shifting at an appropriate timing according to the set shift standby time, thereby enabling control under conditions more suited to the running state of the human-powered vehicle.

[0022] In the control device of a ninth aspect according to the eighth aspect, the control unit is configured to transmit the first control signal to the gear shift device in response to a first operation signal transmitted from a gear shift operating device.

[0023] According to the control device of the ninth aspect, gear shifting can be performed at an appropriate timing when the first operation signal is transmitted from the gear shift operating device.

[0024] In the control device of a tenth aspect according to the ninth aspect, the control unit is configured to transmit a second control signal corresponding to a second operation signal transmitted from the shift operating device to the shift device when the shift waiting time has elapsed since transmission of the first control signal.

[0025] According to the control device of the tenth aspect, when the shift standby time has elapsed since the transmission of the first control signal, the control unit transmits the second control signal to the transmission, allowing shifting at an appropriate timing according to the set shift standby time, thereby enabling control under conditions more suited to the running state of the human-powered vehicle.

[0026] In the control device of an eleventh aspect according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the control device is provided apart from the transmission.

[0027] According to the control device of the eleventh aspect, the degree of freedom in the installation position of the control device is improved.

[0028] In the control device of a twelfth aspect according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the control unit controls the shift waiting time by referring to driving state information detected by the detection unit and the shift direction information.

[0029] According to the control device of the twelfth aspect, the shift standby time of the transmission is set in accordance with the driving state information and the gear shift direction information of the human-powered vehicle, so that the transmission can be controlled under conditions that are more suited to the driving state of the human-powered vehicle.

[0030] In the control device of a thirteenth aspect according to the twelfth aspect, the driving state information includes at least one of driving speed information relating to the driving speed of the human-powered vehicle and crank information relating to rotation information of the human-powered vehicle.

[0031] According to the control device of the thirteenth aspect, the shift standby time of the transmission is set in accordance with the traveling speed information and crank information of the human-powered vehicle, so that the transmission can be controlled under conditions that are more suited to the traveling state of the human-powered vehicle.

[0032] In the control device of a fourteenth aspect according to the twelfth aspect, the traveling state information includes traveling speed information relating to the traveling speed of the human-powered vehicle, and information other than crank information relating to rotation information of the human-powered vehicle.

[0033] According to the control device of the fourteenth aspect, the control unit controls the shift standby time of the transmission of the human-powered vehicle by referring to traveling speed information related to the traveling speed of the human-powered vehicle and traveling condition information including information other than crank information related to rotation information of the human-powered vehicle. Therefore, the shift standby time of the transmission is set according to the traveling condition. This makes it possible to control the transmission under conditions that are more suitable for the traveling condition of the human-powered vehicle.

[0034] In the control device of a fifteenth aspect according to the twelfth aspect, the detection unit detects, as the driving state information, at least one of torque information related to the torque input to the human-powered vehicle, power information related to the power input to the human-powered vehicle, slope information related to the slope of the road on which the human-powered vehicle is traveling, acceleration information related to the acceleration in the direction of forward movement of the human-powered vehicle, and motion information of the human-powered vehicle related to at least one of acceleration, angular acceleration, and attitude position change amount around at least one axis of a yaw axis, a roll axis, and a pitch axis, and the control unit controls the gear change waiting time by referring to at least one piece of information detected by the detection unit.

[0035] According to the control device of the fifteenth aspect, the shift standby time of the transmission is set in accordance with at least one of torque information, power information, slope information, acceleration information, and motion information, making it possible to control the transmission under conditions more suited to the driving state of the human-powered vehicle.

[0036] The control device of a sixteenth aspect according to the twelfth aspect further comprises a storage unit that stores a gear shift waiting time control table in which the running state information corresponds to the gear shift waiting time.

[0037] According to the control device of the sixteenth aspect, the shift waiting time corresponding to the driving state information can be easily set by referring to the shift waiting time control table.

[0038] A transmission system according to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention comprises the control device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects and the transmission.

[0039] According to the transmission system of the seventeenth aspect, the control device sets the shift standby time of the transmission in accordance with the driving state, so that the transmission can be controlled under conditions more suited to the driving state of the human-powered vehicle.

[0040] In a transmission system of an eighteenth aspect according to the seventeenth aspect, a transmission operation device is further provided, and the control device outputs a control signal including the transmission direction information based on an operation input to the transmission operation device.

[0041] According to the gear shifting system of the eighteenth aspect, the control device outputs a control signal based on the operation input to the gear shift operating device, thereby enabling gear shifting at more appropriate timing. [Effects of the Invention]

[0042] According to the present invention, the transmission can be controlled under conditions that are more suited to the running state of the human-powered vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0043] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a human-powered vehicle to which a control device according to a first embodiment is attached. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the transmission system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a portion of an example of a shift waiting time control table. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a control flow of the control device. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a graph showing an example of the detection result of the torque information sensor. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a transmission system according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0044] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. Furthermore, when there are multiple embodiments, the present invention may also include an embodiment constituted by a combination of multiple embodiments.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 1, a human-powered vehicle 1 according to this embodiment is a vehicle in which a passenger rides, and the passenger drives the human-powered vehicle 1. The human-powered vehicle 1 according to this embodiment refers to a vehicle that uses human power at least in part as a driving force for traveling, and includes, for example, a vehicle in which human power is assisted by electric driving force. Vehicles that use only a driving force other than human power are not included in the human-powered vehicle. In particular, vehicles that use only an internal combustion engine as a driving force are not included in the human-powered vehicle. Typically, human-powered vehicles are assumed to be small, lightweight vehicles that do not require a license to drive on public roads.

[0046] The human-powered vehicle 1 is a bicycle driven by the human power of a rider. The human-powered vehicle 1 has a frame FR, a front fork FF, a saddle SA, a handlebar assembly HD, a crank assembly CA, a front sprocket assembly FS, a rear sprocket assembly RS, a chain CN, a front wheel FW, a rear wheel RW, and a transmission system 10.

[0047] The crank assembly FC includes a crank shaft AX and a pair of crank arms CR attached to both ends of the crank shaft AX. The crank shaft AX is rotatably supported by a bottom bracket provided on the frame FR. A pedal PD is connected to each crank arm CR. Each pedal PD is rotatably supported by each crank arm CR.

[0048] The front sprocket assembly FS is connected to the crank assembly FC. The rotation axis of the front sprocket assembly FS is coaxial with the rotation axis of the crankshaft AX. The front sprocket assembly FS includes one or more front sprockets. In this embodiment, the front sprocket assembly FS includes multiple front sprockets with different diameters or numbers of teeth.

[0049] The rear sprocket assembly RS is connected to the rear wheel RW so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis of the rear wheel RW. The rear sprocket assembly RS includes one or more rear sprockets. In this embodiment, the rear sprocket assembly RS includes multiple rear sprockets with different diameters or numbers of teeth.

[0050] The chain CN is wound around the front sprocket of the front sprocket assembly FS and the rear sprocket of the rear sprocket assembly RS. When the front sprocket assembly FS rotates forward due to the human-powered driving force applied to the pedals PD by a rider sitting on the saddle SA, the driving force is transmitted via the chain CN and the rear sprocket assembly RS, causing the rear wheel RW to rotate forward, and the human-powered vehicle 1 moves forward.

[0051] The transmission system 10 includes a transmission 12 and a control device 20. The transmission 12 changes the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle 1 based on a control signal from the control device 20. The gear ratio is the amount of rotation of the rear wheel RW when the crank arm CR makes one rotation. In this embodiment, the transmission 12 includes a front derailleur 16 and a rear derailleur 18. The front derailleur 16 changes the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle 1 by changing the front sprocket around which the chain CN is wound for the front sprocket assembly FS. The rear derailleur 18 changes the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle 1 by changing the rear sprocket around which the chain CN is wound for the rear sprocket assembly RS.

[0052] The gear shift system 10 further includes a gear shift operating device 14. The control device 20 outputs a control signal based on an operation input to the gear shift operating device 14. In this embodiment, the gear shift operating device 14 is provided on the handlebar assembly HD. A rider of the human-powered vehicle 1 inputs a gear shift operation to the gear shift operating device 14. In this embodiment, the gear shift operating device 14 is electrically connected to the control device 20, and an operation signal corresponding to the input operation is transmitted to the control device 20 via wired or wireless communication.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 2 , the control device 20 includes a detection unit 22 and a control unit 24. The detection unit 22 detects driving state information related to the driving state of the human-powered vehicle 1. The control unit 24 controls the gear shift standby time of the transmission 12 of the human-powered vehicle 1 by referring to the driving state information detected by the detection unit 22. The driving state information includes driving speed information related to the driving speed of the human-powered vehicle 1 and information other than crank information related to the rotation information of the human-powered vehicle 1. In this embodiment, the driving state information includes torque information related to the torque input to the human-powered vehicle 1, power information related to the power input to the human-powered vehicle 1, slope information related to the slope of the road the human-powered vehicle 1 is traveling on, acceleration information related to the acceleration in the propulsion direction of the human-powered vehicle 1, and motion information of the human-powered vehicle 1. The motion information includes information related to at least one of the acceleration, angular acceleration, and attitude position change amount around at least one of the yaw axis, roll axis, and pitch axis.

[0054] The detection unit 22 detects riding condition information from the detection results of the riding condition sensor 28. In this embodiment, the riding condition sensor 28 has a torque sensor 28a, a cadence sensor 28b, an incline sensor 28c, an acceleration sensor 28d, and an angular velocity sensor 28e.

[0055] The torque sensor 28a detects the torque input to the human-powered vehicle 1. Specifically, the torque sensor 28a detects the torque applied to the crank arm CR. The torque sensor 28a includes a strain sensor, a magnetostrictive sensor, an optical sensor, or the like. The cadence sensor 28b detects the cadence of the human-powered vehicle 1. The detection unit 22 calculates the power input to the human-powered vehicle 1 based on the torque detected by the torque sensor 28a and the cadence detected by the cadence sensor 28b. The inclination sensor 28c detects the inclination of the road surface on which the human-powered vehicle 1 is traveling. The inclination sensor 28c includes an atmospheric pressure sensor and a GPS sensor. Note that the detection unit 22 may also calculate the inclination based on the angular velocity around the pitch axis of the human-powered vehicle 1 detected by an angular velocity sensor 28e (described later).

[0056] Acceleration sensor 28d detects the acceleration of the human-powered vehicle 1. Acceleration sensor 28d includes an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration in the direction of travel of the human-powered vehicle 1. Angular velocity sensor 28e includes a gyro sensor that detects angular acceleration around at least one of the yaw axis, roll axis, and pitch axis of the human-powered vehicle 1. From the detection results of angular velocity sensor 28e, detection unit 22 calculates the acceleration around at least one of the yaw axis, roll axis, and pitch axis of the human-powered vehicle 1, as well as the amount of change in attitude position.

[0057] Control unit 24 performs calculations based on operations input to gear shift operating device 14, results obtained by detection unit 22, and information stored in storage unit 26 (described later), and controls the operation of gear shift device 12 based on the calculation results. Control unit 24 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit).

[0058] The storage unit 26 includes a cache memory that temporarily stores information transmitted from the control unit 24, and a main memory that continuously stores pre-stored information and information transmitted from the control unit 24. An example of the storage unit 26 is a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory).

[0059] The control unit 24 is configured to send a control signal including gear shift direction information regarding the gear shift direction to the transmission 12. The gear shift direction includes an upshift direction in which the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle 1 increases, and a downshift direction in which the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle 1 decreases. The control unit 24 controls the gear shift wait time by referring to at least one piece of information detected by the detection unit 22 and the gear shift direction information.

[0060] The control unit 24 transmits a first control signal to the transmission 12, and after a shift standby time has elapsed, transmits a second control signal to the transmission 12. The control unit 24 is configured to transmit a control signal to the transmission 12 that corresponds to a shift operation input to the transmission operating device 14. When a shift operation is input to the transmission operating device 14 twice, the transmission operating device 14 transmits a first operation signal and a second operation signal to the control unit 24. The control unit 24 transmits a first control signal corresponding to the first operation signal from the transmission operating device 14 to the transmission 12, and after a shift standby time has elapsed, transmits a second control signal corresponding to the second operation signal to the transmission 12.

[0061] In this embodiment, the shift wait time is set in stages and includes a first wait time t1 [msec], a second wait time t2 [msec], and a third wait time t3 [msec]. The first wait time t1 is longer than the second wait time t2 and the third wait time t3, and the second wait time t2 is longer than the third wait time t3. The shift wait time is not limited to being set in three stages, but may be set in two stages or four or more stages. The control unit 24 controls the shift wait time according to the urgency of the driving conditions at the time the operation is input to the shift operating device 14. For example, the shift wait time is shorter the higher the urgency of the driving conditions, and longer the lower the urgency. The control unit 24 has a timer that starts when it receives an operation signal from the shift operating device 14. The control unit 24 reads the timer value and determines whether the shift wait time has elapsed.

[0062] The storage unit 26 stores a gear shift waiting time control table 30. The gear shift waiting time control table 30 is a data table that associates driving condition information with gear shift waiting times. As shown in FIG. 3, the gear shift waiting time control table 30 has a plurality of tables 32. Each table 32 stores a corresponding piece of driving condition information and a gear shift waiting time set for that driving condition information in association with each other.

[0063] In Fig. 3, torque information is shown as an example of the driving condition information. Table 32 shown in Fig. 3 stores torque information τ1, τ2, ... and gear change waiting times t1, t2, ... set for the torque information in association with each other. Although not shown, the multiple tables 32 include a table in which each piece of driving condition information, such as power information, slope information, acceleration information, and motion information, is stored in association with the gear change waiting times corresponding to the driving condition information.

[0064] An example will be described in which the control unit 24 controls the shift wait time by referring to torque information. The detection unit 22 detects at least the torque information, and the control unit 24 controls the shift wait time by referring to at least the torque information.

[0065] When the torque input to the human-powered vehicle 1 is high, it is estimated that the human-powered vehicle 1 is traveling, for example, up a steep slope. In such a case, the load on the occupant related to driving is high, and it is estimated that the occupant will lower the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle 1. In other words, there is a high urgency for a downshift, but a low urgency for a upshift. Therefore, the control unit 24 sets the gear shift wait time for a downshift to the third wait time t3 and stores this in the table 32, and sets the gear shift wait time for an upshift to the first wait time t1 and stores this in the table 32.

[0066] On the other hand, if the torque input to the human-powered vehicle 1 is low, it is estimated that the human-powered vehicle 1 is traveling, for example, down a steep slope. In such a case, it is estimated that the rider will increase the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle 1 to match the increased traveling speed of the human-powered vehicle 1 caused by descending the slope. In other words, there is a high urgency for a gear change in the upshift direction, and a low urgency for a gear change in the downshift direction. Therefore, the control unit 24 sets the gear change wait time for a gear change in the upshift direction to a third wait time t3 and stores this in the table 32, and sets the gear change wait time for a gear change in the downshift direction to a first wait time t1 and stores this in the table 32.

[0067] The detection unit 22 may detect at least power information, and the control unit 24 may control the shift waiting time by referring to at least the power information. When referring to power, the same control as when referring to torque is possible.

[0068] That is, when the power input to the human-powered vehicle 1 is high, the shift wait time for a downshift is set to the third wait time t3 and stored in the table 32, and the shift wait time for an upshift is set to the first wait time t1 and stored in the table 32. When the power input to the human-powered vehicle 1 is low, the shift wait time for an upshift is set to the third wait time t3 and stored in the table 32, and the shift wait time for a downshift is set to the first wait time t1 and stored in the table 32.

[0069] Alternatively, the detection unit 22 may detect at least acceleration information, and the control unit 24 may control the gear shift wait time by referring to the acceleration information. When the acceleration of the human-powered vehicle 1 changes suddenly, there is a high urgency for both an upshift and a downshift. Therefore, the control unit 24 sets the gear shift wait time for both an upshift and a downshift to a third wait time t3 and stores this in the table 32.

[0070] Alternatively, the detection unit 22 may detect at least the slope information, and the control unit 24 may control the shift wait time by referring to the slope information. More specifically, the control unit 24 may control the shift wait time by referring to at least changes in the slope information. When the change in slope of the human-powered vehicle 1 is large, the urgency of both upshifting and downshifting is high. Therefore, the control unit 24 sets the shift wait time for both upshifting and downshifting to a third wait time t3 and stores this in the table 32.

[0071] Alternatively, the detection unit 22 may detect at least the motion information, and the control unit 24 may refer to the motion information to determine the gear shift wait time. When there is a large change in the motion information of the human-powered vehicle 1, that is, when there is a large change in the acceleration, angular acceleration, and attitude position change amount around the yaw axis, roll axis, and pitch axis of the human-powered vehicle 1, there is a high urgency for both gear shifts in the upshift direction and gear shifts in the downshift direction. Therefore, the control unit 24 sets the gear shift wait time for both gear shifts in the upshift direction and gear shifts in the downshift direction to a third wait time t3 and stores this in the table 32.

[0072] In addition, when the urgency of shifting is neither high nor low, such as when the human-powered vehicle 1 is traveling on flat ground, a gentle uphill slope, or a gentle downhill slope, the control unit 24 sets the shift waiting time for both upshifting and downshifting to the second waiting time t2 and stores this in the table 32.

[0073] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control flow of the control unit 24. When a first gearshift operation and a second gearshift operation are input to the gearshift operation device 14, the gearshift operation device 14 transmits a first operation signal and a second operation signal to the control unit 24. When the control unit 24 receives the first operation signal and the second operation signal from the gearshift operation device 14, it transmits a first control signal to the transmission 12 (step S2). In step S2, the control unit 24 starts a timer. When the transmission 12 receives the first control signal, it changes the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle 1 based on the first control signal. The control unit 24 acquires driving condition information from the detection unit 22 (step S4). The control unit 24 sets a gearshift wait time based on the acquired driving condition information (step S6). In step S6, the control unit 24 references the table 32 in the storage unit 26 and sets a gearshift wait time corresponding to the acquired driving condition information.

[0074] The control unit 24 determines whether or not the gear shift waiting time has elapsed since transmitting the first control signal in step S2 (step S8). In step S8, the control unit 24 determines whether or not the gear shift waiting time has elapsed based on the gear shift waiting time calculated in step S6 and the value of the timer. If the control unit 24 determines that the gear shift waiting time has not elapsed (No in step S8), it repeatedly executes step S8 until the gear shift waiting time has elapsed.

[0075] If the control unit 24 determines that the gear shift waiting time has elapsed (Yes in step S8), it transmits a second control signal to the transmission 12 (step S10). Upon receiving the second control signal, the transmission 12 changes the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle 1 based on the second control signal.

[0076] In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the control unit 24 outputs a control signal based on a gear shift operation input to the gear shift operating device 14, but the gear shift system 10 does not have to include the gear shift operating device 14. In this case, the control unit 24 automatically outputs a control signal to the gear shift device 12 based on the traveling speed, cadence, etc. of the human-powered vehicle 1.

[0077] (Variation) The shift wait time may be measured by the number of torque peaks as shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the magnitude of the torque value. When a rider drives the human-powered vehicle 1, torque is periodically input to the human-powered vehicle 1. Therefore, when the output of the torque sensor 28a is plotted over time, peaks P are periodically formed, as shown in FIG. 5. The shift wait time may be defined by the number of such torque peaks P. For example, the shift wait time may be set as the number N of times that a torque peak P is detected (N is a natural number). In this configuration, the control unit 24 refers to the torque information detected by the detection unit 22, and can transmit a second control signal to the transmission 12 when a torque peak P has been detected N times.

[0078] (Second embodiment) In the control device 20 of the transmission system 10a shown in Fig. 6, the human-powered vehicle 1 is provided with a crank sensor 34. The detection unit 22 further detects crank information from the detection result of the crank sensor 34. The crank information is information relating to the rotation angle when the crank arm CR rotates in the forward direction.

[0079] When the human-powered vehicle 1 travels uphill at a low gear ratio and then travels downhill, and multiple upshift operations are input to the transmission operating device 14, the control unit 24 controls the gear shift standby time by referencing at least the slope information and crank information. The control unit 24 detects whether the human-powered vehicle 1 is traveling uphill or downhill by referencing the slope information from the detection unit 22. The control unit 24 can, for example, refer to the crank information and set the gear shift standby time to the time until the rotation angle of the crank arm CR reaches a predetermined angle, and store this as a table in the memory unit 26. The predetermined angle is 90° or 360°. In this case, the control unit 24 can output a control signal to the transmission 12 each time the crank arm CR rotates a predetermined angle.

[0080] The control unit 24 may also control the gear shift waiting time by referring to slope information, crank information, and torque information. In this configuration, the control unit 24 executes the above control when the torque input to the human-powered vehicle 1 is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

[0081] The control unit 24 may also control the gear shift waiting time by referring to slope information, crank information, and power information. In this configuration, the control unit 24 executes the above control when the power input to the human-powered vehicle 1 is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

[0082] In the above-described embodiments, the control unit 24 controls the shift standby time of the transmission 12 by referencing one or more pieces of driving condition information, but the combination of the pieces of driving condition information is not limited to the embodiments. The control unit 24 may control the shift standby time of the transmission 12 by referencing any combination of pieces of driving condition information different from those described in the first embodiment, modified example, and second embodiment.

[0083] Although the embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, the embodiments are not limited to the content of these embodiments. Furthermore, the above-described components include those that can be easily imagined by a person skilled in the art, those that are substantially the same, and those that are within the scope of what is called equivalents. Furthermore, the above-described components can be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the components can be made without departing from the spirit of the above-described embodiments.

[0084] The phrase "at least one" as used herein means "one or more" of the desired options. As an example, the phrase "at least one" as used herein means "only one option" or "both of two options" if the number of options is two. As another example, the phrase "at least one" as used herein means "only one option" or "any combination of two or more options" if the number of options is three or more. [Explanation of symbols]

[0085] τ1, τ2...torque information, P...peak, CR...crank arm, 1...human-powered vehicle, 10, 10a...gear change system, 12...gear change device, 14...gear change operation device, 20...control device, 22...detection unit, 24...control unit, 28...riding state sensor, 28a...torque sensor, 28b...cadence sensor, 28c...inclination sensor, 28d...acceleration sensor, 28e...angular velocity sensor, 34...crank sensor

Claims

1. a control unit configured to control a shift standby time of the transmission by referring to at least one of shift direction information relating to the shift direction of the transmission of the human-powered vehicle and information included in the traveling state information detected by the detection unit, The detection unit may include, as the running state information: torque information relating to a torque input to the human-powered vehicle; power information relating to the power input to the human-powered vehicle; Acceleration information relating to the acceleration of the human-powered vehicle in a propulsion direction; and motion information of the human-powered vehicle relating to at least one of acceleration, angular acceleration, and attitude position change amount around at least one of a yaw axis and a roll axis; a control device that detects at least one of the following:

2. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the gear change direction includes an upshift direction in which the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle increases, and a downshift direction in which the gear ratio of the human-powered vehicle decreases.

3. the control unit is configured to set the shift wait time for a shift in an upshift direction to a first shift wait time, The control device according to claim 2 , wherein the control unit is configured to set the shift waiting time for a shift in a downshift direction to a second shift waiting time.

4. the control unit is configured to control the gear shift waiting time in the first state so that the second gear shift waiting time is longer than the first gear shift waiting time, 4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit is configured to control the shift wait time in a second state different from the first state so that the second shift wait time is shorter than the first shift wait time.

5. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to transmit a control signal including the shift direction information to the transmission.

6. The control device according to claim 5 , wherein the control unit is configured to output the control signal based on an operation input to a gear shift operation device.

7. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the shift wait time includes at least three wait times.

8. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to transmit a first control signal to the transmission device, and, when the shift wait time has elapsed, to transmit a second control signal to the transmission device.

9. The control device according to claim 8 , wherein the control unit is configured to transmit the first control signal to the transmission device in response to a first operation signal transmitted from a transmission operation device.

10. 10. The control device according to claim 9, wherein the control unit is configured to transmit, to the transmission device, a second control signal corresponding to a second operation signal transmitted from the transmission operation device when the shift standby time has elapsed since transmission of the first control signal.

11. The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is provided remotely from the transmission.

12. the driving state information includes at least one of driving speed information relating to the driving speed of the human-powered vehicle and crank information relating to rotation information of the human-powered vehicle; the detection unit further detects at least one of the traveling speed information and the crank information, 8. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit refers to at least one of the torque information, the power information, the acceleration information, and the motion information, and at least one of the running speed information and the crank information.

13. the running state information includes running speed information related to the running speed of the human-powered vehicle and information other than crank information related to rotation information of the human-powered vehicle, 8. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit refers to at least one of the torque information, the power information, the acceleration information, and the motion information, and at least one of information other than the running speed information and the crank information.

14. The detection unit may include, as the running state information: gradient information regarding the gradient of a road on which the human-powered vehicle is traveling; Motion information of the human-powered vehicle relating to at least one of acceleration, angular acceleration, and attitude position change amount about a pitch axis of the human-powered vehicle. Detecting at least one of 8. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit refers to at least one of the torque information, the power information, the acceleration information, and the motion information, and at least one of the inclination information, and motion information of the human-powered vehicle relating to at least one of the acceleration about a pitch axis of the human-powered vehicle, angular acceleration, and attitude position change amount.

15. The control device according to claim 1 , further comprising a storage unit that stores a gear shift waiting time control table in which the driving state information corresponds to the gear shift waiting time.

16. A control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7; a transmission system comprising the transmission device.

17. 17. The transmission system according to claim 16, further comprising a shift operation device, wherein the control device outputs a control signal including the shift direction information based on an operation input to the shift operation device.

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