JPH11227672A - Power assisted bicycle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically and simply control turning-on and -off of the motor operation for assisting bicycle driving and adjustment, etc., of the driving force on the basis of the correlation between the size of the pedal stamping force and the running speed. SOLUTION: A pedal switch mechanism 10 is equipped with a switch 15 which is turned on when a pedal is stamped to rotate a drive gear 4 and turned off when the pedal stamping goes idling upon sensing the drive difference between stamping of the pedal (7) and the drive gear 4 rotating in the running direction with the stamping. A running assisting power mechanism 20 is furnished to assist the drive of the gear 4 through a drive assist gear 31 rotating with the transmitted drive force from a motor 21 which is actuated when the pedal switch mechanism 10 is turned on. The running assisting power mechanism 20 is equipped with a torque clutch mechanism 40 which makes abutting with friction when the running load of the gear 4 is large so as to transmit the drive force of the motor 21 to the assist gear 31, decreases the drive force of the motor 21 in slippage when the running load is small to refrain from transmitting the drive force to the assist gear 31, and thus establishes the adjustable transmission of the drive force in accordance with the running load.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric assisted bicycle having a built-in motor for smooth running on an uphill, for example, on an uphill or the like, and a stepping force applied to a pedal corresponding to a running speed and a running load of the bicycle. The present invention relates to an electric assisted bicycle in which a motor is turned on / off by a relative comparison with a large and small, and an auxiliary driving force corresponding to the traveling speed is automatically controlled and transmitted so that stable traveling can always be obtained.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various speed change control mechanisms have been incorporated into a bicycle, and when starting or climbing a hill, the bicycle is decelerated to reduce the stepping force on the pedal to reduce the burden on the body. When traveling on a flat traveling road surface, the traveling speed is increased by increasing the speed in reverse. This acceleration / deceleration effect is obtained by changing the meshing of a plurality of large and small gears provided in the transmission control mechanism, and for that purpose, a gear change operation is required. . On the other hand, recently, in order to relieve the trouble of gear change operation, a so-called electric assisted bicycle that uses the driving force of a motor built in so as to reduce the load particularly when traveling uphill such as uphill is used. It has been proposed.

[0003] In this electric assist bicycle, for example, when the traveling speed is 0 to 15 km / h, about half of the propulsion force is assisted by the motor driving force. When the speed is 15 to 24 km / h, the assisting force gradually decreases. When the speed exceeds 24 km, the assisting force is lost and the vehicle is in the same state as riding a normal bicycle. For this reason, the electric assist bicycle is provided with a motor as an auxiliary power source, a storage battery as an electric power source, a control circuit for controlling turning on / off of the motor, and the like.

[0004] In particular, in the control circuit, when the vehicle is running at a low speed or climbing a hill, the depressing force on the pedal is greatly increased and the driving assistance is required. Therefore, a pressure sensor for detecting the depressing force and the bicycle itself are used. A speed sensor etc. that detects the rotation speed of the chain almost corresponding to the running speed is incorporated, and the stepping force, running speed, etc. by these sensors are detected, and the computer ON / OFF etc. is controlled based on the correlation between them. I have. That is, when the traveling speed is low and the stepping force is large, the motor is turned on to generate auxiliary power to assist the traveling (assist). Conversely, when the traveling speed is high and the stepping force is small, The driving force of the motor is reduced and further turned off so that the vehicle is driven only by the depressing force on the pedal of the occupant without generating auxiliary power.

[0005]

However, since the above-described control circuit in the conventional electric assisted bicycle is an indirect control through a computer, not only the control code and the circuit configuration are complicated, but also the control circuit is complicated. IC
Since other expensive electric components must be used, they must be extremely expensive. In addition, since the speed control by the motor driving force is of the inverter type, the circuit configuration is similarly complicated in this respect as well.
It has become expensive.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned various circumstances, and has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances. The setting of the magnitude of the auxiliary driving force corresponding to the traveling load and other controls can be easily performed by a mechanical detection configuration without relying on an electrical configuration, and the configuration can be made extremely simple mechanically. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric assist bicycle that can operate reliably with little failure and can be provided at low cost.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, the vehicle runs by rotating the rear wheel through the drive chain 5 by the drive rotation of the drive gear 4 by depressing the pedal 3. The motor 21 is mounted on the bicycle body 1,
When the vehicle travels with the driving force of the motor 21 assisting the traveling driving force at the time of traveling, the driving difference between the depression of the pedal 3 and the driving gear 4 driven and rotated in the traveling direction by the depression is detected. The pedal switch mechanism 10 includes a switch 15 that is turned on when the drive gear 4 is driven and rotated by depression of the pedal, and is turned off when the depression of the pedal 3 is idle, and a motor 2 that is driven when the pedal switch mechanism 10 is on.
1, a driving assist power mechanism 20 that assists the driving rotation of the driving gear 4 via a driving assist gear 31 by transmitting a driving force of a motor 21, and is mounted on the driving assist power mechanism 20. When the running load on the driving gear 4 is large, the driving force of the motor 21 is transmitted to the driving auxiliary gear 31 by friction due to abutment. Conversely, when the running load is small, the motor 21 slips and the driving force of the motor 21 is reduced. Auxiliary gear 3
And a torque clutch mechanism 40 that adjusts and transmits the driving force according to the running load without transmitting the driving force to the first side. The pedal switch mechanism 10 includes the bicycle body 1
In either forward or reverse direction via an engaging means 11 which engages a pedal crank arm 7 fixed to the pedal shaft 6 in the pedal portion of the present invention and a drive gear 4 fitted to the pedal shaft 6 so as to freely rotate. And the switch 15 which is turned on by the rotation of the pedal crank arm 7 in the running direction is associated with the engaging means 11. The engaging means 11 has a pair of engaging projections 12A and 12B protruding from one of the side surfaces of the drive gear 4 and the pedal crank arm 7 along the front and rear in the rotational direction. , 12B are fitted into the gap between the pedal crank arms 7 and 12B.
Alternatively, it is provided on one of the side surfaces of the drive gear 4. The driving assistance power mechanism 20 includes a motor 21 fixedly arranged on the bicycle frame 2 and a transmission means 22 supported on the bicycle frame 2 to transmit the driving force of the motor 21.
And the driving force from the transmission means 22 to the driving assist gear 31
To the transmission means 22 from the drive assist gear 31
One-way clutch means 26 which does not transmit the rotational driving action to the side
Can be provided. The one-way clutch means 26 always meshes with a swing arm 27 which is supported so as to be able to swing with respect to the outer peripheral edge of the driving auxiliary gear 31, and the one-way clutch means 26 swings with the rotation of the transmission means 22. A transmission gear 28 rotatably supported by the swing arm 27 so as to mesh with the drive auxiliary gear 31 by the swing of the moving arm 27 toward the drive auxiliary gear 31. The torque clutch mechanism 40 is provided with a torque input shaft 41 provided on the motor 21 side, and is provided integrally with the torque input shaft 41, and has a plurality of rolling element support grooves 43 formed on an outer peripheral edge thereof. A roller 42, which is slidable in the radial direction of the torque input shaft 41 and inserted into the roller support groove 43, for example, and a roller-shaped roller 44, is rotatably surrounded on the outer periphery of the holder 42. The torque input shaft 41 includes a torque ring 45 in which the rolling element 44 is pressed against the inner peripheral surface, and a contact portion 47 in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the torque ring 45.
A torque output shaft 46 fitted coaxially with the outer periphery of the torque input shaft 41 and connected to the drive assist gear 31 side.
And can be provided.

In the electrically assisted bicycle according to the present invention having the above-described structure, the pedal 3 is connected to the pedal switch mechanism 10 so as to be engaged with each other via the engaging means 11. When the pedal 3 is depressed, the drive gear 4 is driven and rotated through the pedal crank arm 7 between the crank arm 7 and the drive gear 4 around which the drive chain 5 is hung, and the rear wheel is rotated by the drive chain 5. . At the same time, the rotation of the pedal 3 in the traveling direction turns on the switch 15 to drive the motor 21 of the traveling assist power mechanism 20. The driving force of the driven motor 21 is transmitted through the transmission means 22 and the one-way clutch means 26 to rotate the driving auxiliary gear 31 to assist the traveling driving by the driving gear 4 and to operate the pedal 3 for rotating the driving gear 4. To reduce the direct stepping force. In the one-way clutch means 26 of the traveling assist power mechanism 20,
When the rotational force is transmitted via the transmission means 22 and the transmission gear 28 is rotated, the swing arm 27 swings toward the drive auxiliary gear 31 with the rotation, and the transmission gear 28 meshes with the drive auxiliary gear 31. Then, the driving force of the motor 21 is transmitted to the driving assist gear 31. Conversely, when there is no drive force from the motor 21 side and the drive transmission force is smaller than the rotation force of the drive auxiliary gear 31, when the drive rotation of the drive auxiliary gear 31, that is, the drive rotation of the drive gear 4, rotates together. The rotation force does not cause the transmission gear 28 to rotate following the rotation of the transmission gear 28, and separates the transmission gear 28 itself from the driving auxiliary gear 31, so that the rotation of the driving gear 4 is not transmitted to the motor 21. Travel assist power mechanism 20
In the torque clutch mechanism 40 interposed in the
The torque input shaft 41 rotated by the driving force of 1
To rotate the torque ring 4 surrounding the holding portion 42.
5 is brought into contact with the rolling element 44 by centrifugal action.
5 is rotated synchronously. The rotation of the torque ring 45 also causes the torque output shaft 46 that is in contact with the torque ring 45 via the contact portion 47 to rotate frictionally, thereby transmitting the driving force of the motor 21 to the drive assist gear 31 side. The torque ring 45 and the torque output shaft 46 in the torque clutch mechanism 40 are connected to each other so that the rotation of the driving auxiliary gear 31, that is, the rotation of the driving gear 4 assisted by the driving auxiliary gear 31, causes the bicycle itself to travel uphill. If the driving force is reduced due to the application of a large traveling load in a rough road traveling state or the like, the frictional force is increased, and the depression of the pedal 3 for rotating the driving gear 4 by rotating the driving auxiliary gear 31 largely is reduced. Let it. Conversely, if the traveling of the bicycle itself is large due to the application of only a small traveling load in a high-speed traveling state on a downhill, a flat traveling road, or the like, the frictional force becomes small, and the driving auxiliary gear 31 is rotated small. To reduce the driving assistance for the driving gear 4,
There is no change in the depression force on the pedal 3. The contact friction between the torque ring 45 and the torque output shaft 46 is automatically adjusted to correspond to the magnitude of the traveling load on the drive gear 4, and when the traveling load is large, the contact friction increases to increase the driving assistance. On the other hand, when the running load is small, the vehicle slips and the driving assistance is reduced. The roller-shaped rolling element 44 has a large contact area with the torque ring 45,
The rotation drive from the torque input shaft 41 is transmitted to the torque ring 45 without fail. The switch 15 of the pedal switch mechanism 10 is turned off when the traveling load such as downhill traveling or high-speed coasting becomes extremely small and the depression on the pedal 3 becomes unnecessary or the depression is released. The driving assist by the auxiliary power mechanism 20 is not performed.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bicycle body according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. The driving gear (sprocket wheel) 4 is rotated by depressing the pedal 3 connected to the pedal crank arm 7 integrated with the
, And the rear wheel is driven to rotate. And FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the pedal unit includes a drive gear 4 that is driven and rotated in the traveling direction by stepping on the pedal 3 so as to control driving and stopping of a motor 21 in a driving assist power mechanism 20 described later. When the drive gear 4 is driven and rotated by depressing the pedal 3, the drive gear 4 is turned on to close the motor circuit,
A pedal switch mechanism 10 is provided which is turned off to open a motor circuit when depressing the pedal 3 such that the rotational inertia of the drive gear 4 becomes large due to running or the like. A rechargeable battery removably mounted on the bicycle frame 2 in the vicinity of the pedal portion so as to assist (assist) and rotate the drive gear 4 for rotating the rear wheel via the drive chain 5. A traveling assist power mechanism 20 having a motor 21 driven by a motor 51 is provided. The driving assist is provided by a pedal shaft 6 provided coaxially with a pedal crank arm 7, a driving gear 4, and the like in a pedal portion. The driving auxiliary gear 31 fixed to the motor is rotated. In the traveling assist power mechanism 20, when the traveling load when rotating the rear wheels is large, for example, in an uphill state or on a rough road, the assisting force is used to assist the rotational drive by the drive gear 4. When the traveling load applied to the rear wheels in a normal traveling state or a high-speed traveling state on a downhill, a flat traveling road, or the like is small, the driving assistance to the driving gear 4 is reduced. A torque clutch mechanism 40 that mechanically operates so as to stop the rotation is interposed.

The pedal switch mechanism 10 serves as a switch for opening and closing the motor circuit in the travel assist power mechanism 20. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the pedal 3 fixed to the pedal shaft 6 in the pedal section is connected. Engaging means 11 for engaging the pedal crank arm 7 and the drive gear 4 fitted to the pedal shaft 6 so as to be freely rotatable, preferably in a state where a slight play is set.
And a switch 15 which is a micro switch which is turned on by the rotation of the pedal crank arm 7 in the forward direction, which is a running direction, is related to the engagement means 11. It is attached.

The engaging means 11 in the illustrated example is provided on the surface of the drive gear 4 with a pair of engaging protrusions along the front and rear direction of rotation so as to engage between the back surface of the pedal crank arm 7 and the surface of the drive gear 4. While the projections 12A and 12B are protruded, the key projection 13 which is fitted into the gap between the engagement projections 12A and 12B with a predetermined width of clearance in front and rear in the rotation direction is fitted to the pedal crank arm 7. It is provided on the back surface. The switch 15 is disposed on the back surface of the pedal crank arm 7, and the switch end that is pushed and retracted is one of the switches located in front of the rotation direction that is the forward direction when the pedal crank arm 7 is rotated to run the bicycle itself. Rotation of the pedal crank arm 7 in the forward direction (clockwise in FIG. 1) relative to the drive gear 4 causes the switch end of the switch 15 to engage with the engagement projection 12A. The contact causes the motor circuit to be turned on (see FIG. 4), and similarly, the rotation in the opposite direction turns off the motor circuit (see FIG. 3). Although not shown, the engagement projections 12A and 12B of the engagement means 11 may be arranged on the pedal crank arm 7, and the key projection 13 may be arranged on the drive gear 4.

The key protruding body 13 is provided with a key protruding member 13 so that the switch 15 is always turned off when the driving assist power mechanism 20 is in a non-operating state when the bicycle itself is not running. A resilient body 16 such as a coil spring having an extension tendency protruding from the front side is inserted, and the resilient force of the resilient body 16 always keeps the switch end away from one of the engagement protrusions 12A. is there. In the illustrated example, one engagement projection 12A is made longer than the other engagement projection to thereby integrally form a portion where the switch end abuts.
In FIG. 2A, it is also possible to separately form a portion where the key protrusion 13 is sandwiched and a contact portion between the switch end and the portion.

Further, the contacts of the switch 15 pass through the inside of the pedal shaft 6 as shown in FIG. 2, and are electrically connected by a slip ring structure at a bearing 8 of the pedal shaft 6 with respect to the bicycle frame 2.

The driving assist power mechanism 20 rotates the driving assist gear 31 by transmitting the driving force of the motor 21 to the driving assist gear 31 via the transmission means 22 and the one-way clutch means 26. The rating of the motor 21 is such that the traveling speed by its driving force is a safe speed, for example, 24 km / h to 25 km / h, which is a legal safe speed. That is, the traveling assist power mechanism 20 is housed and fixed in the bicycle frame 2 in a motor case integrally formed with a box for housing the rechargeable battery 51, for example, so that the motor 21 appropriately fixed and arranged and the driving force of the motor 21 are reduced. A transmission means 22 composed of an appropriate number of gears 23, 24 and 25 appropriately supported on the bicycle frame 2, a motor case and the like for transmission, and a driving force from the transmission means 22 is transmitted to the driving auxiliary gear 31. The one-way clutch means 26 which does not transmit the rotation driving action from the auxiliary gear 31 to the transmission means 22 side is provided.

The motor 21 is fixed to the bicycle frame 2 by, for example, being housed and fixed in the above-described motor case arranged behind the pedal portion. For example, the motor 21 is provided from a rechargeable storage battery 51 which is removably mounted and set. Driven by electric power.

The transmission means 22 in the illustrated example is a motor 21
And a large-diameter intermediate gear 24 supported on the bicycle frame 2, the motor case, and the like, and a clutch gear 25 disposed coaxially with the intermediate gear 24. The driving speed of the motor 21 is reduced to a predetermined speed by the ratio of the number of teeth between these gears. Of course, the transmission means 22 is not limited to a configuration having a plurality of gears as shown, but may be configured as another power transmission structure such as a belt transmission type.

The one-way clutch means 26, as shown,
The clutch gear 25 or the intermediate portion is disposed outside the outer peripheral edge so as to mesh with the teeth formed on the outer peripheral edge of the driving auxiliary gear 31 so as to be able to swing with respect to the outer peripheral edge of the driving auxiliary gear 31 by its own weight. A swing arm 27 coaxially supported with the gear 24 and a clutch gear 25 are always meshed with each other, and the swing assist arm 27 swings to the drive assist gear 31 side as the clutch gear 25 rotates, whereby the drive assist is provided. A transmission gear 28 rotatably supported by a swing arm 27 so as to mesh with the gear 31 (FIG. 5).
reference). The oscillating arm 27 itself oscillates about an axis such as the intermediate gear 24 or the clutch gear 25, and the clutch gear 25 rotates the transmission gear 28 by the transmission driven rotation by the driving force of the motor 21. Swings toward the drive assist gear 31 and engages the transmission gear 28 with the drive assist gear 31 (see FIG. 6).
Even if 1 is rotated, when there is no drive transmission from the motor 21 side, it swings so as to retreat from the drive assist gear 31 side (see FIG. 7). That is, the one-way clutch means 26 transmits the driving force from the motor 21 to the driving auxiliary gear 31 but does not transmit the rotating force from the driving auxiliary gear 31 to the motor 21. is there. Reference numeral 29 in the drawing denotes a balancer provided on the other end side of the swing arm 27 so as to balance the weight with the transmission gear 28 on one end side.

A torque clutch mechanism 40 provided in the traveling assist power mechanism 20 for automatically adjusting the magnitude of the driving assist force in accordance with the magnitude of the traveling load is connected to the motor output shaft of the motor 21 in the drawing. The input side is connected to the motor output shaft, and the output side is connected to the motor gear 23, respectively.
Although the automatic adjustment can be efficiently performed by disposing the motor coaxially with the motor gear 23, it is needless to say that the disposition portion is not limited to the illustrated example, the explanation example, and the like (see FIG. 1, see FIG. 2). This torque clutch mechanism 40
5 is provided integrally with the torque input shaft 41 arranged on the motor 21 side so as to be driven and rotated by being connected to the motor output shaft as shown in FIGS. 5 to 9. A plurality of rolling element support grooves 43 formed on the outer peripheral edge, and a rolling element slidable in the radial direction of the torque input shaft 41 and inserted into the roller supporting groove 43. A torque ring 45 that is rotatably surrounded by the outer periphery of the holding portion 42 and that the rolling element 44 is pressed against the inner peripheral surface; and a contact portion 47 that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the torque ring 45. And a torque output shaft 46 fitted coaxially with the torque input shaft 41 on the outer periphery of the torque input shaft 41 and connected to the drive assist gear 31 side, and a heat radiating means 48 for radiating frictional heat generated therein. And

The torque input shaft 41 is formed in a cylindrical shape so as to be fitted and screwed to the motor output shaft, for example, and is formed integrally with the holding portion 42 in the drawing. It has a substantially T-shape in side section, and has a nested structure that rotates freely with the torque output shaft 46 via a bearing so that these shafts are aligned (see FIG. 8). .

The holding portion 42 itself has the shape of a donut disk with a notch at the center, and is integrated with the torque input shaft 41 at its center edge, and has a substantially U-shaped outer peripheral edge. Are formed in a notch form from the outer peripheral edge so as to be radially arranged, and each of the roller support grooves 43 is provided with a centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the holding portion 42. A roller-shaped rolling element 44 is provided so as to protrude outward, or a roller-shaped rolling element 44 that improves the efficiency of frictional contact.

The torque ring 45 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a width not smaller than the thickness of the holding portion 42 so as to surround the outer periphery of the holding portion 42, and the outer peripheral edge of each of the rolling element support grooves 43. The entire area of the opening is covered.

The torque output shaft 46 is fitted on a torque ring 45 by a contact portion 47. The output end of the torque output shaft 46 itself is, for example, a gear meshing with the intermediate gear 24 in the travel assist power mechanism 20 as shown in the figure. It is formed in a shape. The torque output shaft 46 is connected to the holding section 4.
When the rolling element 44 is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the torque ring 45 due to centrifugal force due to the rotation of 2, the rotation of the holding part 42 allows the rotation to be performed via the torque ring 45 and the contact part 47. (See FIGS. 6 and 9). Note that the torque output shaft 46 is held on the holding portion 4 so as to be smoothly rotated on the same axis with respect to the torque input shaft 41.
The bearings are interposed between the inner peripheral edge of the shaft 2 and the outer peripheral edge of the torque input shaft 41, respectively.

The heat dissipating means 48 dissipates the frictional heat and the like generated due to the pressure stop between the rolling element 44 and the torque ring 45 inside the abutting portion 47 to the outside. As shown in FIG. The contact portion 47 at 46 has a plurality of air-cooled flange fins formed on the outer peripheral surface, but may be formed in other cooling and heat-radiating structures such as a water-cooled system instead of the air-cooled system in some cases. is there.

Although not shown, the torque input shaft 41
It is also possible to adopt a box-like configuration that encloses the torque output shaft 46 and the torque output shaft 46 without directly combining them with each other.

In the torque clutch mechanism 40 constructed as described above, when the torque input shaft 41 and the holding portion 42 are rotated by the driving force of the motor 21 in the driven auxiliary driving power mechanism 20, the roller is rolled by centrifugal force. The rolling element 44 in the armature supporting groove 43 projects outward and the torque ring 4
5 to be pressed against the inner peripheral surface (see FIG. 6). Then, the frictional action between the rolling element 44 and the torque ring 45 causes the torque ring 4 to rotate.
As a result, the torque output shaft 46 also rotates through the contact portion 47 that is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the torque ring 45, and the driving force of the motor 21 is transmitted to the drive assist gear 31 through the transmission means 22. You do it. At this time, the drive assist gear 31 itself is integrally formed with the drive gear 4 by its shaft, so that the rotation of the drive assist gear 31 assists the rotation of the drive gear 4, and for example, when the vehicle is running at a low speed such as an uphill state, the drive assist gear 31 is driven. The rotation of the gear 4 is assisted to reduce the pedal depressing force of the rider. The rotation assisting force applied to the drive gear 4 is generated when the drive assist gear 20 itself is driven by the pedal switch mechanism 10 which is turned on when the pedal 3 is depressed, and is rotated when the travel assist power mechanism 20 is driven. When the rotational driving action of the drive gear 4 itself is large, the frictional force between the torque ring 45 and the torque output shaft 46 is reduced and slips, so that the drive gear 4 is in a semi-idling state and is reduced. When the rotation driving action of the motor 4 itself is small, the frictional force between the torque ring 45 and the torque output shaft 46 increases, and the frictional engagement between the torque ring 45 and the torque output shaft 46 increases. That is, the magnitude of the frictional force between the torque ring 45 and the torque output shaft 46 automatically corresponds to the magnitude of the rotational driving state of the driving gear 4 and the slowing of the traveling speed, so that the motor 21 assists the rotation of the driving gear 4 by the motor 21. The magnitude of the driving force is adjusted and controlled.

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of the motor 21 in the driving assist power mechanism 20. The rechargeable battery 51 and the motor 21 which are removably mounted at appropriate places on the bicycle frame 2 are connected to one another by a pedal switch. It is connected via a switch 15 which is opened and closed in the mechanism 10, and on the other hand is connected by grounding the bicycle frame 2 itself. Further, between the rechargeable battery 51 and the switch 15, a revolving ring-shaped current collecting ring 52 disposed on the side surface of the drive assist gear 31 as connected to the switch 15 side, and connected to the rechargeable battery 51 side. As described above, the current collector brush 53 appropriately supported by the bicycle frame 2 is interposed so as to be always in contact. The rechargeable battery 51 includes, for example, a main switch 55 on a handle or the like of the bicycle body 1.
Is provided so that the necessity of driving assistance by the traveling assistance power mechanism 20 can be selected.

Next, an example of the use of the pedal will be described. In this state, the main switch 55 is turned on and the pedal 3 is depressed to start traveling. The drive gear 4 is engaged with the drive gear 4 through the engagement means 11 so that the drive gear 4
While the rear wheel is driven to rotate by the drive chain 5 accompanying the rotation of the drive gear 4, the drive gear 4 and the pedal crank arm 7
Pedal switch mechanism 1 based on the relative rotational phase of both
The switch 15 at 0 is turned on to drive the motor 21 of the travel assist power mechanism 20 (see FIG. 4).
The driving force of the motor 21 is a centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the torque input shaft 41 in the torque clutch mechanism 40 so that the rolling element 44 is pressed against the torque ring 45 and the torque output shaft 46 Is driven to rotate (see FIG. 9). The rotation of the torque output shaft 46 is transmitted to the transmission gear 28 of the one-way clutch means 26 via the transmission means 22 to rotate the transmission gear 28, and the rotational force causes the swing arm 27 to move to the drive assist gear 31 side. Oscillating transmission gear 28
Is meshed with the driving auxiliary gear 31, and as a result, the motor 2
The first drive force rotates the drive assist gear 31 (see FIG. 6). The drive assist gear 31 rotated in this way assists (assists) the drive rotation of the drive gear 4 directly by the stepping on the pedal 3 by the occupant, and reduces the initial load at the start of traveling. .

While the pedal 3 continues to be depressed, the switch 15 of the pedal switch mechanism 10 is turned on and the motor 21 is driven. Since the driving assistance by the mechanism 20 is also continued, the depressing force of the occupant on the pedal 3 is reduced. When a predetermined speed, for example, a legal safe speed is reached, the driving assist traveling by the motor 21 of the traveling assist power mechanism 20 and the direct driving traveling on the driving gear 4 are maintained together with the driving assist traveling.

When the depressing force on the pedal 3 for directly driving the drive gear 4 in the normal running state increases,
In order to rotate the driving auxiliary gear 31 synchronized with the rotation of the driving gear 4, the torque output shaft 46, the transmission means 22, and the torque clutch mechanism 40 which is the driving position serving as the driving force via the one-way clutch means 26 provide torque. Input shaft 41
The centrifugal force exerts on the rolling element 44 due to the rotation of the roller 44 to stop the torque ring 45 from contacting with the torque ring 45.
7, a slip occurs in the transmission of the rotational torque to and from the torque output shaft 46 which rotates in contact with the shaft. This slip balances the auxiliary driving action on the driving gear 4 by the rotation of the driving auxiliary gear 31 by the driving force of the motor 21 and the depressing action from the pedal 3 that directly drives and rotates the driving gear 4. When the driving rotation by the gear 4 is fast, the slip increases and the driving assist force decreases. On the other hand, when the driving rotation by the driving gear 4 is slow, the slip decreases and the driving assist force increases. The bicycle is driven at a stable speed without any discomfort, such as a feeling of the magnitude of the depressing force applied to the pedal 3 (see FIGS. 6 and 9).

In particular, when the vehicle is climbing an uphill or the like, the depressing force on the pedal 3 is greatly increased. Therefore, the travel assist power mechanism 20 is driven while the switch 15 of the pedal switch mechanism 10 is kept on. However, in this case, since the running load is large and the driving rotation by the driving gear 4 is small, almost no slip occurs in the torque clutch mechanism 40, and the motor 2
The driving force 1 drives the driving assist gear 31 largely through the torque clutch mechanism 40, assists the driving of the driving gear 4 when climbing a hill that requires a large stepping force, and drives and rotates the driving gear 4 with a small stepping force. This causes the user to climb an uphill or the like.

Conversely, when the pedal 3 is hardly required to be depressed when traveling downhill, when traveling at high speed on a flat traveling road, or the like, the depression on the pedal 3 is completely eliminated, or the pedal 3 is caused to spin in reverse. When the pedal is depressed, the switch 15 of the pedal switch mechanism 10 is turned off and the driving assist power mechanism 20 is not driven at all (see FIG. 3). It does not consume power. When the pedal 3 is depressed again at this time, the pedal switch mechanism 10 is turned on, and as described above, the driving is automatically assisted by the operation of the torque clutch mechanism 40 accompanying the driving of the traveling assist power mechanism 20, thereby controlling the speed. The bicycle is run at the set running speed.

[0032]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, the traveling speed is determined from the correlation between the magnitude of the depressing force applied to the pedal 3 during traveling and the traveling speed of the drive gear 4 directly driven by this depression. On / off of the drive of the motor 21 in the auxiliary power mechanism 20, and control of the magnitude of the drive assist force to the drive gear 4 by the drive force are easily performed by a mechanical detection structure without using an electrical structure. Not only can it be operated, but also it can be operated reliably with few failures due to its extremely simple mechanical structure, and its maintenance and inspection are extremely easy and can be provided at low cost.

That is, in the present invention, the pedal 3
Is turned on when the drive gear 4 is driven and rotated by depressing the pedal 3, and is turned on when the pedal 3 is depressed idling. Switch 15 that turns off
And a driving gear 4 via a driving auxiliary gear 31 which rotates by transmitting a driving force of a motor 21 driven when the pedal switching mechanism 10 is turned on.
Driving assist mechanism 20 for assisting the driving of the
When the traveling load of the motor 21 is large, the driving force of the motor 21 is transmitted to the driving auxiliary gear 31 side due to contact friction, and when the traveling load is small, the driving force of the motor 21 is reduced and the driving force of the motor 21 is reduced. And a torque clutch mechanism 40 that adjusts and transmits the driving force in accordance with the running load without transmitting to the vehicle.
When the vehicle is depressed or depressed with respect to the pedal 3 due to a large running load such as when the vehicle is starting or traveling on a rough road, the driving assist to the driving gear 4 is obtained, and conversely, high-speed coasting on a downhill, a flat running road, or the like. When the running load at the time of
The driving assist is released when there is no step on the vehicle, and when there is no driving force, the auxiliary driving force is automatically adjusted according to the running load, and the passenger turns on / off the auxiliary driving force. The vehicle can run smoothly without any uncomfortable feeling without being aware of the automatic adjustment of the vehicle.

The pedal switch mechanism 10 engages a pedal crank arm 7 fixed to the pedal shaft 6 and a drive gear 4 fitted to the pedal shaft 6 so as to be freely rotatable via engaging means 11. Therefore, the rotation of the pedal crank arm 7 rotates the drive gear 4 via the engagement means 11, and the rear wheels can be directly driven and rotated by the drive chain 5, so that the rider can ride the bicycle without feeling uncomfortable like a conventional bicycle. I can run.

Further, in the engagement means 11, the key projection 13 fitted into the gap between the pair of engagement projections 12A and 12B projecting from either the drive gear 4 or the side surface of the pedal crank arm 7 is provided. The switch 15 is provided on the other side of the drive gear 4 or the pedal crank arm 7, and a switch 15 which is turned on by rotation of the pedal crank arm 7 in the running direction is associated with the engagement means 11. Due to the drive difference between the running load applied to the drive gear 4 by the chain 5 and the stepping force on the pedal 3, when the stepping force is large, the switch 15 can be turned on to drive the driving assist power mechanism 20, and the drive gear 4 rotates. When there is almost no stepping force on the pedal 3, the driving assist power mechanism 20 is not driven, and the 51 are those which do not wasting energy.

The traveling assist power mechanism 20 transmits the driving force from the transmission means 22 for transmitting the driving force of the motor 21 to the driving auxiliary gear 31, and the driving auxiliary gear 31 rotates the driving force to the transmission means 22 side. When the driving force on the driving gear 4 side is large and no auxiliary driving force is required, the one-way clutch means 26 that does not transmit the power is transmitted to the motor 21 by the manual driving by the depressing force on the pedal 3. Instead, the motor 21 can be prevented from being damaged or the like. Moreover, the one-way clutch means 26 is always meshed with the swingable swing arm 27 with the transmission means 22, and swings the swing arm 27 toward the drive assist gear 31 as the transmission means 22 rotates. When the auxiliary driving force from the motor 21 is large, the transmission gear 28 is meshed with the driving auxiliary gear 31 by the swing of the swing arm 27 because the transmission gear 28 meshing with the driving auxiliary gear 31 is provided. Thus, the driving auxiliary gear 31 is reliably driven to rotate, and the driving gear 4 is auxiliary driven.

The torque clutch mechanism 40 is provided integrally with the torque input shaft 41 and has a plurality of rolling element support grooves 43 formed on an outer peripheral edge thereof. The loaded rolling element 44, a torque ring 45 that is rotatably surrounded on the outer periphery of the holding portion 42, and the rolling element 44 is pressed against the inner peripheral surface, and contacts the outer peripheral surface of the torque ring 45 And a torque output shaft 46 coaxial with the torque input shaft 41, so that when there is a rotational torque from the motor 21 side, the rolling element projects outward by centrifugal force. 44 stops the torque ring 45 and rotates the torque output shaft 46 via the contact portion 47 so that the drive can be transmitted to the drive assist gear 31 side.

Further, in the torque clutch mechanism 40, the torque ring 45 and the torque output shaft 46 are in contact with the contact portion 4
When the direct driving force of the drive gear 4 itself is reduced by applying a large running load when the bicycle itself travels on an uphill or on a rough road, the torque output is reduced. Since the frictional force between the shaft 46 and the torque output shaft 46 increases, the driving auxiliary gear 31 can be rotated greatly, and the auxiliary driving force applied to the driving gear 4 increases, so that the driving auxiliary gear 31 can rotate the driving gear 4. It is possible to reduce stepping. Conversely, when the bicycle itself travels on a downhill or a high-speed traveling state such as a flat traveling road or the like and only a small traveling load is applied, and the direct driving force by the driving gear 4 itself is increased, the torque output shaft is increased. Since the frictional force between the torque output shaft 46 and the torque output shaft 46 is reduced, the drive assist gear 31 can be rotated small, the auxiliary drive force to the drive gear 4 decreases, and the drive assist gear 31 itself is driven by the direct drive force. It makes the running smooth.

That is, the contact friction between the torque ring 45 and the torque output shaft 46 is automatically adjusted to correspond to the magnitude of the traveling load on the drive gear 4 which is directly rotated by depressing the pedal 3. Yes, when the running load is large, the contact friction increases and the driving assistance increases, and when the running load is low, the vehicle slips and the driving assistance decreases, and no artificial operation is required for these adjustments. Therefore, the passenger only has to depress the pedal 3 and run the vehicle as in the conventional case, which is extremely simple and easy to handle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of a main part according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part of the same.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the pedal switch mechanism when the switch is off before the pedal is depressed.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the pedal switch mechanism when the switch is turned on after the pedal is depressed.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view of the traveling assist power mechanism and the torque clutch mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway side view of the traveling assist power mechanism and the torque clutch mechanism during drive transmission.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the traveling assist power mechanism and the torque clutch mechanism when drive is not transmitted.

FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway front view of the torque clutch mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the torque clutch mechanism with a partial cutaway.

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of the same.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the entire bicycle.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Bicycle main body 2 ... Bicycle frame 3 ... Pedal 4 ... Drive gear 5 ... Drive chain 6 ... Pedal shaft 7 ... Pedal crank arm 8 ... Bearing 10 ... Pedal switch mechanism 11 ... Engagement means 12A, 12B ... Engagement projection 13 ... Key projection 15 ... Switch 16 ... Repellent body 20 ... Auxiliary power mechanism 21 ... Motor 22 ... Transmission means 23 ... Motor gear 24 ... Intermediate gear 25 ... Clutch gear 26 ... One-way clutch means 27 ... Swing arm 28 ... Transmission gear 29 Balancer 31 Driving auxiliary gear 40 Torque clutch mechanism 41 Torque input shaft 42 Holding part 43 Roller support groove 44 Roller 45 Torque ring 46 Torque output shaft 47 Contact part 48: heat dissipating means 51: rechargeable battery 52: current collecting ring 53: current collecting brush 55: main switch

Claims (7)

[Claims] A motor is mounted on a bicycle body that runs by rotating a rear wheel through a drive chain by driving rotation of a driving gear by depressing a pedal, and a driving force of the running is assisted by a driving force of the motor. In an electric assisted bicycle designed to travel, the drive difference between the depression of the pedal and the drive gear driven and rotated in the traveling direction by this depression is detected, and the power is turned on when the drive gear is driven and rotated by the depression of the pedal. A pedal switch mechanism having a switch that is turned off when the pedal depresses idling, and a motor that is driven in an on state of the pedal switch mechanism. A drive assist power mechanism for assisting the drive rotation of the drive gear, and a drive assist When the running load on the gear is large, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the driving auxiliary gear side due to contact friction. Conversely, when the running load is small, the motor slips to reduce the driving force of the motor and transmit it to the driving auxiliary gear side. And a torque clutch mechanism for adjusting and transmitting the driving force according to the running load. 2. The pedal switch mechanism includes an engaging means for engaging a pedal crank arm fixed to a pedal shaft in a pedal portion of the bicycle main body and a drive gear freely rotatably fitted to the pedal shaft. 2. The electric assist bicycle according to claim 1, wherein a switch which is turned on by rotation of the pedal crank arm in the running direction is provided in association with the engaging means while being engaged with each other in any of the forward and reverse directions. 3. The engaging means projects a pair of engaging projections on either one of the side surface of the drive gear or the side surface of the pedal crank arm along the front and rear direction of rotation, and a gap between the engaging projections. 3. The electric assist bicycle according to claim 2, wherein a key projection fitted into the inside is provided on one of the other side of the pedal crank arm or the drive gear. 4. A driving assistance power mechanism includes: a motor fixedly arranged on a bicycle frame; transmission means supported on the bicycle frame for transmitting the driving force of the motor; and driving force from the transmission means to a driving auxiliary gear. The electric assist bicycle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a one-way clutch means for transmitting the rotational driving action from the drive assist gear to the transmission means side from the drive assist gear. 5. The one-way clutch means is constantly engaged with a swing arm which is supported so as to be able to swing with respect to the outer peripheral edge of the drive assist gear, and swings with the rotation of the transmission means. The electric assist bicycle according to claim 4, further comprising a transmission gear rotatably supported by the swing arm so as to mesh with the drive assist gear by swinging the arm toward the drive assist gear. 6. A torque clutch mechanism comprising: a torque input shaft disposed on a motor side; and a torque input shaft integrally provided on the torque input shaft, wherein a plurality of rolling element support grooves are formed on an outer peripheral edge. A roller, which is slidably slidable in the radial direction of the torque input shaft and is inserted into the roller support groove, and is rotatably disposed around the outer periphery of the holding portion, and the roller is provided on the inner peripheral surface. A torque ring pressed against the torque ring, and a contact portion in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the torque ring. The torque ring is coaxial with the torque input shaft, fitted to the outer periphery of the torque input shaft, and connected to the drive assist gear side. 2. A torque output shaft.
6. The electric assisted bicycle according to any one of items 1 to 5. 7. The battery-assisted bicycle according to claim 6, wherein the rolling element is formed in a roller shape.