JPH028953B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a bicycle gear shift position informing device that is attached to a bicycle equipped with a gear type transmission, and in particular, the present invention relates to a bicycle gear shift position informing device that is attached to a bicycle equipped with a gear type transmission. The display displays gear up or gear down so that the relationship falls within the set range, and the driver operates the transmission according to the display. This system prevents the crank gear from over-rotating or placing an excessive load on the rider, in other words, it easily guides the rider to maintain the appropriate number of gears, making bicycle riding safer and less tiring. Regarding what you were trying to do.

Conventionally, as this type of gear position notification device, there is a device that simultaneously displays the number of gears on the speedometer display screen, but in such conventional examples, the driver confirms the speed display and the corresponding number of gears. The driver had to make a judgment as to whether to gear up or down, and then operate the transmission to change the number of gears.During this process, driving became careless, which was a serious problem in terms of traffic safety. In view of these points, the present invention provides a system for checking the speed display and the corresponding number of gears,
This system enables the driver to concentrate on driving by automating the judgment of gear up and down, and will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a bicycle, which has a gear type transmission consisting of five-stage change gears 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E installed on a rear wheel 2 and a guide device 5 that can be moved by pulling or loosening a wire 4. Device 6
The guide device 5 is connected to the crank gear 8 which is rotated by driving the pedal 7 with the foot.
The driving force is transmitted to any of the change gears 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E via a chain 9 that is moved in stages, and the number of gears is changed from 1 to 5 in a well-known configuration. .

The gear change position notification device for bicycles according to the present invention
A wheel speed sensor 12 installed on the front fork 11 of the front wheel 10 of the vehicle, and a crank gear rotation sensor 13 installed on the vehicle body pipe near the crank gear 8.
, a control box 14 attached to the center portion of the handle, and an electric transmission mechanism 15 attached to the cargo bed stay.

Next, each part will be explained. First, the wheel speed sensor 12 has a built-in Hall element and a magnet 12A attached to the spoke of the front wheel 10.
When the wheel passes through the sensor 12, it outputs a wheel rotation pulse. The crank gear rotation sensor 13 similarly includes a Hall element, and outputs a crank gear rotation pulse when a magnet 13a attached to the back surface of the crank gear 8 passes through the sensor 13.

Further, the electric transmission mechanism 15 is composed of a forward/reverse rotating motor 16, a reduction gear 17, a winding drum 19 having a gear position sensor 18, and a battery power source 20. By rotating the wire 16 in forward and reverse directions, the wire 4 is wound around or unwound onto the winding drum 19, and the wire 4 is pulled or loosened in stages. 5 is moved, and similarly the chain 9 is replaced with any of the chain gears 3A...3E, and the gear position sensor 18 detects whether the chain 9 is hooked on any of the chain gears 3A...3E. That is, the control box 14 detects the number of gears.
The signal is transmitted to the internal electronic circuit. As shown in FIG. 5, the gear position sensor 18 includes a fixed plate 21 fixed to the reduction gear box inside the control box 14, and first, second, third, and fourth contacts attached to the fixed plate 21. Piece 22X, 22Y, 22Z, 2
2W and a rotating plate 23 made of a printed circuit board coaxially supported by the winding drum 19. The entire surface of this rotating plate 23 is a conductive surface 2 made of a copper foil plate.
4, and the guide device 5 is arranged at the sliding contact portions of the first, second, and third contact pieces 22X, 22Y, and 22Z to face the first-stage chain gear 3A to the fifth-stage chain gear 3E. The insulating parts 25, 25 are etched so that a 3-bit binary code corresponding to the stopped position, that is, the 5th gear position from the 1st gear position, can be obtained.
... is provided, and furthermore, the fourth contact piece 22W is always in sliding contact with the conductive surface 24, so that the fourth contact piece 22W
4 is supplied with power from the fourth contact piece 22W, and as a result, the first, second and third contact pieces 22X, 22Y, 22Z
comes into sliding contact with the conductive surface 24, a high level state (H
By slidingly contacting the insulating parts 25, 25, etc., a low-level state (L state) signal is obtained, respectively. Therefore, these first, second, and third contact pieces From 22X, 22Y, and 22Z, the stop position <A position> in the first gear is (H, L, L), and the stop position <B position> in the second gear is (L, H, L). , number of gears 3
At the stop position <C position> in the step (H, H,
L), the detection signal is (L, L, H) at the stop position <D position> at the 4th gear stage, and (H, L, H) at the stop position <E position> at the 5th gear stage. It is becoming possible to obtain it.

Next, in the control box 14, 14a is its display operation surface;
, 24 is a 4-digit 8-segment numerical display for displaying the traveling speed, crank gear rotational speed, or number of gears, and 27, 28, 29, and 30 indicate whether the content displayed on this numerical display 26 is the traveling speed or the traveling speed. A speed display lamp, a distance display lamp, a time display lamp, and a crank gear speed display lamp that indicate distance, running time, or crank gear rotation speed, and 31, 32, and 33 are gear up display lamps, gear appropriateness display lamps, and gear down, which will be described later. It is an indicator lamp. Furthermore, on this display operation surface 14a, 34 is a start/stop key switch;
5 is a speed key switch, 36 is a distance key switch, 37 is a time key switch, 38 is a time reset key switch, 39 is a crank gear rotation speed key switch, and 40 is a driver inputting whether the driver is a child or an adult. Switch, 41
42 is a gender switch that inputs whether the driver is male or female; 42 is a terrain switch that inputs whether the driving situation is uphill, flat, or downhill; and 43
a, 43b, 43c, 43d, and 43e connect the guide device 5 of the gear type transmission 6 to the five-stage change gear 3.
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th gear command key switches 44 command the number of gears to be opposed to A, 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E; A gear call key switch 45 displays the number of gears on the 8-segment numerical display 26, and 45 is a power switch.

The control box 14 has a built-in electronic circuit including a microcomputer device 46 for calculation.
In the storage section of the control box 14, the travel speed range (described later) and crank gear rotational speed range (described later) corresponding to each of the five change gears, that is, the number of gears, are input in advance by setting switches 47, 47, . . . on the rear surface of the control box 14. The processing procedure shown in FIG. 10 is also stored.

Then, the driver inputs his/her own information using the driver switch 40 and gender switch 41, and inputs usage information using the terrain switch 42, and if he/she wants to know the driving speed, presses the speed key switch 35. . Then, the wheel rotation pulses from the wheel speed sensor 12 are counted and processed by an electronic circuit to digitally display the traveling speed on the numerical display 26, and the speed display lamp 27 is turned on, and then the processing procedure shown in FIG. 10A is performed. Accordingly, the travel speed range is preset to the currently set number of gears,
The current traveling speed is compared with the measured value, and if the current traveling speed is higher than the maximum speed of the set traveling speed range, the gear up display lamp 31 is lit to prompt the user to increase the number of gears. When the speed is lower than the lowest speed in the set travel speed range, the gear down indicator lamp 33 is lit to prompt the user to reduce the number of gears, and when the current travel speed is within the set speed range, the gear appropriateness indicator lamp 32 is lit. This display indicates that the correspondence between the traveling speed and the number of gears is appropriate.If the driver presses any of the 1st to 5th gear command key switches 43a to 43e according to this display, the correspondence will be established. The motor 16 of the electric transmission mechanism 15
A command signal for forward rotation or reverse rotation is given to the motor, and when the gear position sensor 18 outputs a binary code corresponding to the specified number of gears, the motor 16 is stopped and the gear type transmission 6 is maintained at the specified number of gears. It's getting old.

Next, if the user wants to know the rotation speed of the crank gear 8, the crank gear rotation speed key switch 39 is pressed. Then, the crank gear rotation sensor 1
The crank gear rotation pulses from 3 are counted and processed by an electronic circuit to digitally display the crank gear rotation speed on the numerical display 26, and the crank gear speed display lamp 30 is lit, and the processing procedure shown in FIG. Accordingly, the current crank gear rotation speed is determined to be within the set crank gear rotation speed range by comparing the preset crank gear rotation speed range for the currently set number of gears with the measured value of the current crank gear rotation speed. When the rotational speed of the crank gear is higher than the maximum crank gear rotation speed, the gear up display lamp 31 is lit to prompt the user to increase the number of gears.
On the other hand, when the current crank gear rotation speed is smaller than the minimum crank gear rotation speed in the set crank gear rotation speed range, the gear down display lamp 33 is lit to prompt the user to reduce the number of gears, and the current crank gear rotation speed is When the crank gear rotation speed is within the set crank gear rotation speed range, the gear appropriateness indicator lamp 32 is lit to indicate that the correspondence between the crank gear rotation speed and the number of gears is appropriate. ~By pressing any of the fifth gear command key switches 43a to 43e, the crank gear 8 is prevented from over-rotating, and the user is not subjected to excessive load.
It is designed to easily guide you to maintain the appropriate number of gears.

Next, a method of setting the set speed range corresponding to each of the above-mentioned gear positions will be described. This is a system that determines the number of gears relative to the traveling speed in order to drive the bicycle most efficiently and without fatigue depending on the rider and the driving situation, where X is the number of gears,
With V ₁ as the maximum speed and V ₂ as the minimum speed, V ₁ = aX (X = 1, 2, 3, 4) V ₂ = a (X - 1) - b (X = 2, 3, 4, 5, but When V ₂ <0, V ₂ =0) and stored in the storage section of the microcomputer device 46, and these constants a and b are set by the setting switch 4.
By inputting in 7, 47, etc., the traveling speed range corresponding to each gear number is determined. For example, when a=10 and b=5, the relationship between the traveling speed and the number of gears is 9th. The result will be as shown in Figure A. Further, in the processing procedure diagram shown in FIG.
7, 47..., and the correction constant C
Accordingly, the value of a changes depending on the setting conditions of the driver and the driving situation, and more appropriate conditions can be set.

Next, a method of setting the crank gear rotational speed range corresponding to each of the above-mentioned gear positions will be described.
This is a system in which the number of gears is determined based on the crank gear rotation speed in order to prevent the bicycle rider from over-speeding the crank gear or overloading the bicycle. It is made to be constant at each gear stage number. That is, the crank gear rotation speed is the number of rotations per unit time of the crank gear 8 (r, p,
m), but if V ₃ (r, p, m) is the highest crank gear rotation speed and V ₄ (r, p, m) is the lowest crank gear rotation speed, then the first gear stage is V ₃ = d, V ₄ = 0, from the second stage to the fourth stage
V ₃ = d, V ₄ = e, and the fifth stage is defined by V ₃ = ∞, V ₄ = e and stored in the storage section of the microcomputer device 16, and these constants d and e are set as described above. The crank gear rotational speed range corresponding to each gear stage number is determined by inputting it to the switches 47, 47, etc. For example, d=60(r,
When p, m) and e=30 (r, p, m), the relationship between the crank gear rotational speed and the number of gears is as shown in FIG. 9B. Furthermore, in the processing procedure diagram shown in FIG. 10B, the correction constant f is input from the setting switches 47, 47, etc. in order to adjust the crank gear rotational speed range depending on the driver and driving conditions. In the case of so-called inertia driving, in which the crank gear is not rotated, the crank gear rotation speed is almost zero, so to eliminate this case, the measured value of the crank gear rotation speed is set to 0 (r, p,
m) to 5 (r, p, m), no comparison with the crank gear rotational speed range is made.

Incidentally, on the display operation surface 14a, 48 is a buzzer that sounds by an oscillator of about 2.8KHz and 3.5KHz included in the electronic circuit, and it emits a high tone when the gear is up during the speed change operation, and a low tone when the gear is down. ing.

As described above, according to the present invention, the bicycle driver can easily check the rider's leg strength, whether the bicycle is going uphill or downhill, etc. by simply operating the transmission according to the display. It is possible to maintain an appropriate number of gears depending on the road conditions, etc. Therefore, the bicycle can be ridden comfortably without over-rotating the crank gear or becoming fatigued due to an excessive load. Furthermore, since you can see gear up and gear down instructions with just a glance at the display, you won't have to worry about driving, which is extremely beneficial for traffic safety.

In place of the gear up indicator lamp, gear appropriate indicator lamp, and gear down indicator lamp of the present invention, the numerical display may be used to display gear up, appropriate gear, and gear down as shown in FIG.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings all relate to embodiments of the bicycle gear shift position informing device of the present invention. Figure 1 is an overall view of the device installed on a bicycle, Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of a gear type transmission, and Figure 3 is a configuration of a crank gear rotation sensor. Figure 4 is a diagram of the relationship between the control box and electric transmission mechanism, etc. Figure 5
The figure is a configuration diagram of the gear position sensor, A is a diagram of the rotating plate, B is a diagram of the fixed plate, C is an overall relationship diagram, Figure 6 is a back view of the control box, and Figure 7 is a conceptual diagram of the electronic circuit. , FIG. 8 is a diagram of the main part of FIG. 7, FIG. 9 A is a diagram showing the relationship between the running speed and the number of gears, and FIG. 9 B is a diagram showing the relationship between the crank gear rotational speed and the number of gears.
Figure 10A is a processing procedure diagram when selecting the traveling speed display;
Fig. 10B is a processing procedure diagram when crank gear rotational speed display is selected, Fig. 11 is a diagram of another embodiment of the display, A is a gear up display state diagram, B is a gear proper display state diagram, and C is a gear down display state diagram. It is a display state diagram. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E... Chain gear, 8... Crank gear, 9... Chain, 12
...Wheel speed sensor, 13...Crank gear rotation sensor, 14...Control box, 15...Electric transmission mechanism, 18...Gear position sensor, 31...
... Gear up indicator lamp, 32... Gear proper indicator lamp, 33... Gear down indicator lamp.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. It is attached to a bicycle that selectively switches and transmits the driving force from the crank gear to any one of the multi-stage chain gears installed on the wheel, and the bicycle's running speed measuring means and/or the crank gear. It has a rotation speed measuring means,
On the other hand, a travel speed range and/or a crank gear rotational speed range that corresponds to each of the plurality of change gears and that can be corrected by a correction means according to the driver, road conditions, etc. are set in advance, and the measurement output of the measurement means is set in advance. A bicycle gear shift position informing device that compares the measured output with the set range and displays on a display whether the measured output is larger than the set range, smaller than the set range, or within the set range.