Bicycle Chain Tensioner Sensor for Gear Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bicycle gear systems lack accurate and convenient methods to indicate the current gear engagement and chain orientation, leading to potential errors and inconvenience in shifting operations.
Innovation Solution
A control system that uses a processor and sensor to determine the orientation of a chain tensioner cage, compare it to a collection of orientations, and verify gear changes, allowing for precise detection and action in response to gear shifts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If visual identification of gear combination is used, then no additional sensors are needed, but accuracy and convenience of gear indication deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces visual identification (mechanical/optical system) with an electronic sensor system that detects chain tensioner cage orientation. The sensor outputs an electrical signal that directly indicates gear engagement, eliminating the need for visual inspection and improving measurement accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a chain tensioner cage as an intermediary element that mechanically links chain tension to gear engagement state. The sensor detects the cage's orientation, which serves as an indirect but reliable indicator of gear combination, providing accurate measurement without direct observation of the gears themselves.
2Reliability
If motor shaft output measurement is used, then gear combination can be inferred, but reliability deteriorates due to missed shift actions or error events
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the sensor continuously monitors chain tensioner cage orientation and provides real-time verification of gear engagement. This feedback loop detects actual chain position rather than relying on motor commands, ensuring reliability even when shift actions are missed or error events occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The chain tensioner cage naturally positions itself according to chain tension requirements for each gear combination. The sensor simply reads this self-established position, allowing the mechanical system to provide its own verification signal without requiring complex control algorithms or additional active components.
3Measurement precision
If chain tensioner cage orientation sensing is implemented, then accurate gear engagement detection is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the measurement parameter from direct gear position or motor shaft output to chain tensioner cage orientation. This parameter naturally varies with gear engagement and provides a reliable indicator that can be detected by a relatively simple sensor, balancing measurement precision with acceptable device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A gear change mechanism for a bicycle may involve a tensioner that has a wheel engaged with a chain in a bicycle drivetrain. This tensioner may be configured to rotate or otherwise change orientation in response to slack in the chain to maintain tension in the chain. A sensor may be used to measure the orientation of a tensioner of a chain in a bicycle drivetrain, and/or the physical orientation of components indicative thereof. Actions may be triggered by signals generated by the sensor.