JP3436378B2 - Battery case for electric bicycle - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery case detachably mounted on a vehicle body of an electric bicycle. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an electric bicycle using a motor as auxiliary power, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-8637, a battery is charged together with a battery case when the battery is charged. There is something to take off. In order to perform charging by removing the battery case with the electric bicycle disclosed in this publication, first, the connector of the discharge circuit for electrically connecting the battery and the motor side is removed, and the battery case is removed from the vehicle body. Then, the battery case is carried to a place where the charger is located, and the charger is connected to the battery case-side connector, which has been removed earlier, to perform charging. After charging, the battery case is attached to the vehicle body as before, and the connector on the battery case side is connected to the connector on the motor side. In order to charge the battery without removing the battery case from the vehicle body, the battery case connector has been changed from the motor connector to the charger connector. That is, in the electric bicycle disclosed in the above publication, charging and discharging are performed by changing the connection destination of the battery case side connector. [0006] However, if the battery case side connector is used for both discharging and charging as described above, each connector becomes expensive because of the following reasons. However, there is a problem in that a connector larger than necessary must be used as a connector for the charger. [0007] If the motor is of a high torque type and the climbing performance is improved, a large current will flow from the battery to the motor. Therefore, a connector for electrically connecting the battery side and the motor side has a large current. Must be used. On the other hand, the amount of current at the time of charging is much smaller than the amount of current at the time of discharging. Therefore, a connector for a small current is generally used as a charger-side connector. That is, in order to connect the battery-side connector to the charger-side connector, the charger-side connector must be a large one for a large current corresponding to the battery-side connector. For this reason, the charger-side connector becomes large and expensive. When charging the battery case with the battery case attached to the vehicle body, the battery case side connector must be disconnected from the motor side connector and connected to the charger side connector each time. In other words, during charging, the battery case side connector is always attached to and detached from the motor side connector, and the number of times of attachment / detachment increases. You have to. A battery case for an electric bicycle according to the present invention has a frame-side support box such that a case main body for housing a battery is vertically oriented along a frame of the electric bicycle. A battery case for an electric bicycle, wherein the case body is provided with a discharging electrode connected to a battery and a charging-only connector, wherein the discharging electrode is mounted on the case body. A plurality is provided in the vicinity of the lowest part in the vicinity of each other , and automatically comes into contact with and separates from the plurality of motor-side electrodes provided on the support box side in accordance with the attaching and detaching operation of the case body to the support box. Each electrode is connected to the support box of the case body.
When gravity is applied to the case body after installation is completed
The charging direction is positioned at a position on the side of maintaining the connection between the electrodes, and the charging-only connector is exposed through the opening inside the charging opening formed in the case main body.
As mounted is connected in parallel with the discharge electrode in the battery, the charging opening, at the time of non-charging with a cover
It is directly covered. Since only a charging current smaller than the discharging current flows through the charging-only connector, a small-sized connector having a smaller capacity than the discharging electrode or the motor-side electrode can be used as the charging-only connector. Further, by attaching and detaching the battery case to and from the vehicle body, the discharge electrode automatically comes into contact with and separates from the motor-side electrode, so that the battery case can be easily attached and detached. Further, when the battery case is mounted on the support box, gravity acts on the battery case in a direction in which the discharge electrode is connected to the motor-side electrode. Furthermore, when not charging, the charging-only connector can be isolated from the outside by a cover covering the charging opening. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a side view of an electric bicycle equipped with a battery case according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing a motor bracket portion, and FIG.
, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the battery case for an electric bicycle according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a charging connector portion, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a discharging electrode portion. FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a schematic configuration of the short-circuit prevention device. In these figures, 1 is an electric bicycle, 2
Is a frame of the electric bicycle 1. This frame 2
Is a front fork 4 on which the front wheel 3 is rotatably provided.
Pipe 2a for supporting the steering freely, and a down tube 2b extending rearward and downward from the head pipe 2a
A seat tube 2c connected to the rear end of the down tube 2b via a motor bracket 5, and a chain stay 2d extending rearward from the motor bracket 5.
And a seat stay 2e connecting the upper part of the seat tube 2c and the rear end of the chain stay 2d. Reference numeral 6 denotes a handle mounted on the upper end of the front fork 4, reference numeral 7 denotes a cushioned seat mounted on the upper end of the seat tube 2c, and reference numeral 8 denotes a rear wheel. The rear wheel 8 is rotatably supported by a rear wheel bracket 2f provided integrally with a rear end of the chain stay 2d and a lower end of the seat stay 2e. Are linked. An outer cover 10 covers a battery case and a motor unit, which will be described later. The outer cover 10 extends along a down tube 2b of the frame 2 and is supported and fixed to the down tube 2b. The lower cover 10a is connected to the lower cover 10a via a pivot 10b located on the motor bracket 5 side. The upper cover 10c is supported so as to be vertically swingable and closes an upper opening of the lower cover 10a. The lower cover 10a is a down tube 2
b is covered from below and the motor bracket 5 is covered from left and right sides. Also, the upper cover 10c
Has a structure in which the whole is formed in a substantially downward U-shaped cross section and covers the upper opening of the lower cover 10a, and a locking device 11 is mounted on a portion which becomes a swing end. Reference numeral 11a denotes a key of the locking device 11. In the exterior cover 10 configured as described above, the locking device 11 is unlocked and the front portion of the upper cover 10c is lifted to open the upper cover 10c as shown by a two-dot chain line a in FIG. become. Reference numeral 12 denotes a motor unit serving as auxiliary power for the electric bicycle 1. The motor unit 12 includes a motor 13 supplied from a battery described later, a gear box 15 having a crankshaft 14, and a crankshaft 14.
A chain ring 16, a crank 17, a pedal 18, and the like are mounted on a shaft, and are supported and fixed to the motor bracket 5 with the motor 13 standing. In addition,
A chain ring 16 is connected to the rear wheel 8 via a chain 9. Reference numeral 19 denotes a fixing bolt for fixing the motor unit 12 to the motor bracket 5. The motor bracket 5 supporting the motor unit 12 is constructed by welding a tubular motor cover 5b to a T-shaped pipe assembly 5a welded to the down tube 2b in a side view. The seat tube 2c is coaxially welded to the upper end of the motor cover 5b, and the motor 13 is positioned in the motor cover 5b. That is, when the motor unit 12 is mounted on the motor bracket 5, the motor unit 12 is positioned at the center in the vehicle width direction as shown in FIG. The control unit 20 attached to the lower part of the down tube 2b is connected to the motor 13 of the motor unit 12. Control unit 20
Is configured to transmit the power from the motor 13 to the crankshaft 14 by rotating the motor 13 only when the pedaling force of the occupant is applied to the crankshaft 14 from the pedal 18. That is, when the pedal 18 is depressed, a rotational torque from the motor 13 is applied to the crankshaft 14 in addition to the depressing force. The gear box 15 has:
In order to prevent torque from being transmitted from the crankshaft 14 to the motor 13 side when rotation of the pedal 18 becomes higher than rotation of the motor 13 side and rotation resistance is increased, a one-way clutch (not shown) is provided. I have. Reference numeral 21 denotes a battery case. As shown in FIG.
And a battery 22 for supplying power to the control unit 20 is housed therein, and is supported and fixed thereon along the down tube 2b of the frame 2 as shown in FIG. The battery case 21 includes a lower case 23 as a case body, an upper case 24, and the like, and is configured to be inserted into a battery case support box 25 described later. In addition, the support structure of the battery case 21 has a structure in which the support box 25 is fixed to the down tube 2b, and the battery case 21 is fixed to the support box 25 by a clamp described later. Here, the structure of the battery case 21 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The lower case 23 and the upper case 24 are integrally formed of a synthetic resin into a square tube with a bottom.
The battery 22 is formed along the down tube 2b of the frame 2 and has a structure in which two batteries 22 are arranged in front and rear. The lower case 23 and the upper case 24 have their respective opening edges fastened by connecting screws 26 and, as shown in FIG. 5, a connecting portion 23a formed at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of each case. By being fastened to each other by the tapping screws 27, they are assembled so as not to be separated from each other. The connecting portions 23a and 24a are provided at two locations substantially at the center in the longitudinal direction of each case. The lower case 23 is provided with a charging connector 28 serving as a charging-only connector, a discharging electrode 29, a short-circuit prevention device 30, and the like. Charging connector 28
Has a structure in which the contact 28a is connected to the charger-side connector 31 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5, and the contact 28a is exposed through the opening inside the side opening 23b of the lower case 23.
It is screwed to the lower case 23 so as to be positioned so as to come out . The contact 28a of the charging connector 28
Extends in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the battery case 21 and is connected to a short-circuit prevention device 30 described later via a connection cable 32. The discharge electrode 29 has an L-shaped cross section.
On the left and right sides of one longitudinal end of the lower case 23,
A plurality of battery cases 21 are screwed close to each other in the vicinity of the lowest part in the vehicle-mounted state. Also,
A side portion of the lower case 23 corresponding to the discharge electrode 29 is opened so that the discharge electrode 29 is exposed.
This electrode opening is indicated by reference numeral 23c in FIGS. The left and right discharge electrodes 29 are connected to the short-circuit prevention device 30 via a connection cable 33, respectively. The discharging electrode 29 and the charging connector 2
8 is electrically connected to the short-circuit prevention device 30 in parallel as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the short-circuit prevention device 30
The connection cable 32 on the charging connector side and the connection cable 33 on the discharging electrode side are connected to the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the battery 22 via the fuse 30a, and the connection portion between the two connection cables is connected to the charging connector 28 side. , A diode 30b for preventing short circuit that allows current to flow only to the battery side
Is interposed. The short-circuit prevention device 30 is held by a holding plate 23d protruding from the bottom of the lower case 23 as shown in FIG. The upper case 24 includes the battery case 21
34 that is held when attaching and detaching the support box 25 to and from the support box 25
Are formed, and concave portions 24a are formed at four places to which the engagement rings of the clamps described later are hooked. The support box 25 for supporting the above-mentioned battery case 21 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin into a substantially rectangular tube having a bottom, and the bottom thereof is provided on the support plate 3 of the down tube 2b.
4 is fixed to a fixing bolt 35. In addition, the support plate 34 is provided in two places in front and back, and the down tube 2b
Welded to. The support box 25 is formed so that the above-described battery case 21 is fitted therein, and a portion corresponding to the side opening 23b of the lower case 23 at the side thereof has a charger 31 into which the charger-side connector 31 is inserted. The mouth 25a is open. A motor-side electrode 36 that contacts the discharge electrode 29 is screwed to a portion of the support box 25 corresponding to the electrode opening 23c of the lower case 23. The motor-side electrode 36 is formed by bending a plate-like spring material having conductivity, and has a contact portion 36 a that projects inwardly of the support box 25. That is, the discharge electrode 29 is connected to the motor-side electrode 36.
The battery case 21 is located at a position where the battery case 21 is automatically brought into contact with and separated from the battery case 21 when the battery case 21 is attached to and detached from the support box 25 . sand
That is, each electrode is connected to the support box 25 of the lower case 23.
When the mounting is completed, the action of gravity on the lower case 23 is applied.
In the direction that maintains the connection between the electrodes.
Is installed . Further, a connection cable 37 with a connector connected to the motor unit 12 and the control device 20 is connected to the motor-side electrode 36. That is, when the battery case 21 is mounted on the support box 25, the discharge electrode 29 comes into contact with the motor-side electrode 36 to electrically connect them, and the battery side and the motor side are connected. become. As shown in FIG. 5, a load receiver 25b which is supported by the down tube 2b at a portion between the support plates 24 is formed on the bottom surface of the support box 25. For this reason, the support box 25 is supported by the down tube 2b at a total of three places of the load receiver 25b and the support plate connecting portion. Reference numeral 38 denotes a battery case 21
It is a clamp for fixing. The two clamps 38 are attached to the left and right sides of the support box 25 at the front and rear sides, and the upper folded portion 39a of each engagement ring 39 is hooked on the concave portion 24a of the upper case 24 and pulled. In order to attach the battery case 21 constructed as described above to the vehicle body, first, a two-dot chain line a in FIG.
The upper cover 10c of the outer cover 10 is opened, and the battery case 21 is fitted into the support box 25 located in the outer cover 10 from above as shown in FIG. By pushing the battery case 21 to the innermost part of the support box 25, the discharge electrode 29 is connected to the motor-side electrode 36. After the battery case 21 is inserted into the support box 25 in this manner, the engaging ring 39 of the clamp 38 is hooked on the upper case 24, and the battery case 21 is fixed so as not to come off from the support box 25. Then, the opened upper cover 10c is closed and locked by the locking device 11.
Thus, the battery case 21 is mounted on the vehicle body. Next, a procedure for charging the battery 22 in the electric bicycle 1 configured as described above will be described. To charge, the battery case 21
And removing the battery case 21 from the vehicle body, and a method in which the battery case 21 is mounted on the vehicle body. To remove the battery case 21 from the vehicle body and charge it, first, the locking device 11 provided at the front of the
Then, the upper cover 10c of the outer cover 10 is pulled upward and opened as shown by a two-dot chain line a in FIG. By doing so, the battery case 21 and the support box 25 are exposed. Next, the battery case 21 is placed in the support box 25.
Then, the clamp 38 fixed to the battery case 21 is removed, and the battery case 21 is pulled up with the handle 34. By pulling the battery case 21 upward from the support box 25, the discharge electrode 2
9 comes off the motor-side electrode 36. In order to perform charging, the charger connector 31 is inserted into the side opening 23b of the battery case 21 and connected to the charging connector 28. To charge the battery case with the battery case 21 mounted on the vehicle body, the exterior cover 1 is charged in the same manner as described above.
Open the upper cover 10c of the
This is performed by inserting the charger-side connector 31 into a. At this time, the charger side connector 31 is connected to the charging connector 28 from the charging port 25a through the side opening 23b of the battery case 21. That is, the charging connector
28 is directly covered with the outer cover 10 when not charging.
We will be isolated from the outside. Therefore, in the battery case configured as described above, only a charging current smaller than the discharging current flows through the charging connector 28, so that the charging connector 28 and the charger-side connector 31 connected thereto are not used. In addition, a smaller electrode having a smaller capacity than the discharge electrode 29 and the motor-side electrode 36 can be used. Further, in order to charge the battery case 21 without removing it from the vehicle body, the charger 31 is connected to the charging connector 28 without disconnecting the connection state between the discharging electrode 29 and the motor-side electrode 36. Will be For this reason, the charging operation when charging the battery case in a vehicle-mounted state is simplified. Further, as shown in the present embodiment, the discharge electrode 29 and the motor-side electrode 36 are configured to be electrically connected by the contact between the electrode plates, and the connection direction is the same as the attachment / detachment direction of the battery case 21. Then, by attaching and detaching the battery case 21 to and from the support box 25, the discharge electrode 29 is attached to and detached from the motor-side electrode 36. That is, in connecting the discharge electrode 29 to the motor-side electrode 36, no special operation other than the battery case attaching / detaching operation is required, so that the operation of removing the battery case 21 from the vehicle body is simplified, and the charging operation is simplified. As described above, the battery case for the electric bicycle according to the present invention can be attached to and detached from the support box on the frame side so that the case main body for storing the battery is arranged vertically along the frame of the electric bicycle. A battery case for an electric bicycle, which is freely mounted and provided with a discharging electrode connected to a battery and a charging-only connector on the case body, wherein the discharging electrode is most mounted in a state where the case body is mounted on a vehicle. A plurality of electrodes are provided close to each other in the vicinity of the portion to be lowered, and are automatically connected to a plurality of motor-side electrodes provided on the support box side as the case body is attached to and detached from the support box. At the same time, separate each electrode from the support box of the case body.
When gravity is applied to the case
The charging connector is exposed through the opening inside the charging opening formed in the case main body.
The battery is connected to the battery in parallel with the discharging electrode, and the charging opening is directly covered by the cover when not charging. Therefore , the charging dedicated connector has a charging current smaller than the discharging current. Since only the current flows, a small-sized connector having a smaller capacity than the discharging electrode or the motor-side electrode can be used as the charging-only connector.
Therefore, a small-sized and inexpensive charger-side connector can be adopted. Further, when the battery case is attached to and detached from the vehicle body, the discharge electrode automatically comes into contact with and separates from the motor-side electrode, so that the battery case can be easily attached and detached during charging. Further, when the battery case is mounted on the support box, gravity acts on the battery case in a direction in which the discharge electrode is connected to the motor-side electrode, so that the connection state of these electrodes is stabilized. Furthermore, since the charging-only connector is isolated from the outside by the cover during non-charging, it is possible to make it difficult for rainwater or the like to be applied to the charging-only connector, and to prevent mischief by a third party. .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of an electric bicycle equipped with a battery case according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing a motor bracket portion of the electric bicycle equipped with the battery case according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a view of the motor unit in FIG. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the battery case for the electric bicycle according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a charging connector portion of the battery case for an electric bicycle according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a discharge electrode portion of the battery case for an electric bicycle according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a short circuit prevention device. [Description of Signs] 2 Frame 12 Motor unit 21 Battery case 22 Battery 25 Support box 28 Charging connector 29 Discharge electrode 31 Charger side connector 36 Motor side electrode

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims 1] A case body for housing a battery is removably attached to a support box on the frame side so as to be vertical along the frame of the electric bicycle. An electric bicycle battery case provided with a discharging electrode and a charging-only connector connected to the battery,
A plurality of the discharge electrodes are provided in proximity to each other in the vicinity of the lowest portion of the case body in a vehicle-mounted state, and a plurality of motor-side electrodes provided on the support box side are provided with a plurality of motor-side electrodes to the support box of the case body. The electrodes automatically come and go with the attachment / detachment operation, and each electrode is completely attached to the support box of the case body.
The direction in which gravity acts on the case
Positioned on the side that maintains the pole connection ,
The charging-only connector is mounted inside a charging opening formed in the case main body so as to be exposed through the opening, and is connected to a battery in parallel with the discharging electrode. The battery case for an electric bicycle , wherein the battery opening is directly covered with a cover when not charging.