JP6514601B2 - Notification device and electrically assisted bicycle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a notification device and a motor-assisted bicycle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a power-assisted bicycle that supplies an auxiliary driving force from an electric motor to a wheel according to a human-powered drive system that supplies the pedaling force applied to the pedal to the wheel and the pedaling force applied to the pedal. Among such power-assisted bicycles, there are ones that transmit the stepping force applied to the pedal to the rear wheels and transmit the auxiliary driving force by the motor to the front wheels and the rear wheels.

  In particular, in the case of an electric motor that drives a wheel, there is a problem that slip (idling) is likely to occur in situations such as uphill start.

  As a technology for eliminating the slip without impairing the driver's comfort, Patent Document 1 discloses gradually the magnitude of the auxiliary driving force until the elimination of the slip is detected when the slip of the wheel driven by the electric motor is detected. The technology to make it smaller is described.

JP, 2014-128994, A

  However, in the case of the electrically assisted bicycle in the prior art, when the control for reducing the assisting driving force is performed with the elimination of the slip, the assisting driving force is controlled without the driver's intention, so the driver is assisted electrically. There was a case that a mistake in the bicycle was identified.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described point, and notifies that the auxiliary driving force reduction control has been performed in accordance with the occurrence of the slip on the wheel to which the auxiliary driving force is supplied from the electric motor. With the goal.

One embodiment of the present invention performs an auxiliary driving force control that causes an electric motor to generate an auxiliary driving force according to an input torque by a pedal force applied to a pedal, and an auxiliary driving force reduction control that reduces the auxiliary driving force. Among the control by the driving force control unit, a reduction notifying unit performing a reduction notification indicating that the auxiliary driving force reduction control has been performed based on the operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control, and a duration time of the reduction notification In the first case, the reduction notification unit starts the reduction notification in response to the start of the operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control by the driving force control unit. The reduction notification is ended in response to the continuation time from the start of the reduction notification, and the reduction notification unit performs the reduction notification according to the start of the operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control. In the second case where the operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control is started again, the reduction is performed according to the continuation time from the start of the reduction notification, regardless of the start of the second operation. The notification is ended, and in the second case, according to the occurrence of the slip on the wheel driven by the auxiliary driving force at the first time, according to the start of the operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control When the reduction notification is started, and then the wheel in which the slip has occurred at the first time is not slipped, although the auxiliary driving force reduction control is not performed, the reduction notification is continued, and then The operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control is started in response to the occurrence of the slip at the wheel again at the second time, the reduction notification is continued, and then the first time from the first time is A notification device, characterized by terminating the reduction notification in response to the duration has elapsed.

  Further, the notification device according to one embodiment of the present invention further includes an abnormality notification unit that performs abnormality notification indicating that the driving force control unit is in an abnormal state, and the reduction notification by the abnormality notification unit is the reduction notification. Priority is given to the reduction notification by the unit.

  Further, the notification device according to one embodiment of the present invention further includes an abnormal content notification unit that performs notification indicating the content of the abnormal condition, and the abnormal content notification unit performs the abnormal notification when the abnormal notification unit performs the abnormality notification. And a notification indicating the content of the abnormal condition, and when the reduction notification unit performs the reduction notification, the notification indicating the content of the abnormal condition is not performed.

  Further, the reduction notification unit of the notification device according to one embodiment of the present invention performs the auxiliary driving force reduction control when a slip is generated on a wheel driven by the auxiliary driving force generated by the electric motor. Give a notification of reduction.

  Moreover, one Embodiment of this invention is an electrically-assisted bicycle provided with the notification apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to notify that the auxiliary driving force reduction control has been performed in accordance with the occurrence of the slip on the wheel to which the auxiliary driving force is supplied from the electric motor.

It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the outline | summary of the electrically assisted bicycle in this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the outline | summary of the notification apparatus in this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram showing an example of composition of a driving force control part in this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the driving force control part in this embodiment. It is a graph which shows an example of control of the auxiliary | assistant driving force of the driving force control part in this embodiment. It is a graph which shows an example of control of the notice control part in this embodiment. It is a 2nd schematic diagram which shows an example of a structure of the driving force control part in this embodiment. It is a 2nd schematic diagram which shows an example of a main part of the notification apparatus in this embodiment. It is a 2nd flow chart which shows an example of operation of a driving force control part in this embodiment.

First Embodiment
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the battery-assisted bicycle 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the outline of the motor-assisted bicycle 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1: is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the outline | summary of the electrically assisted bicycle 1 in this embodiment.
The battery-assisted bicycle 1 includes a front fork 11, a head pipe 12, a down tube 13, a seat tube 14, a seat stay 15, a chain stay 16, and a headlight 17. In addition, the battery-assisted bicycle 1 includes a front wheel 21, a rear wheel 22, a handle stem 23, a handle 24, a seat post 25, a saddle 26, a pedal 27, a crank 28, and a chain 29. In addition, the electrically assisted bicycle 1 includes an electric motor 30, a battery 31, a sprocket 80, a front wheel rotation number detection unit 60, a rear wheel rotation number detection unit 70, an input torque detection unit 50, and a driving force control unit 10. And a notification device PN.
The front fork 11, the head pipe 12, the down tube 13, the seat tube 14, the seat stay 15, and the chain stay 16 constitute a frame of the electrically assisted bicycle 1. The front wheel 21 is rotatably attached to the front fork 11. The rear wheel 22 is rotatably attached to the intersection of the seat stay 15 and the chain stay 16. Further, the headlight 17 is attached to the front fork 11.
Hereinafter, when the front wheel 21 and the rear wheel 22 are not particularly distinguished, they are collectively referred to as the wheel 20.

The handle stem 23 is rotatably inserted into the head pipe 12. The handle 24 is attached to the upper end of the handle stem 23. The seat post 25 is fitted to the seat tube 14. The saddle 26 is attached to the upper end of the seat post 25. The pedal 27 is connected to the crank 28. The crank 28 is connected to the sprocket 80. The chain 29 is stretched around the sprocket 80 and the rear wheel 22.
When the driver applies a pedaling force to the pedal 27, the sprocket 80 is rotated. As the sprocket 80 rotates, the driving force is transmitted to the rear wheel 22 via the chain 29. The value of the torque generated on the sprocket 80 when the pedaling force is applied to the pedal 27 is referred to as an input torque ITrq. The input torque detection unit 50 detects an input torque ITrq. The input torque detection unit 50 is, for example, a detection unit which is connected between the crank 28 and the sprocket 80 and detects the torsion of the torsion bar twisted according to the input torque ITrq. In this example, the input torque detection unit 50 is attached to the sprocket 80.

  The front wheel rotation number detection unit 60 detects the rotation number of the front wheel 21. The front wheel rotational speed detector 60 is attached to the front wheel 21. Further, the rear wheel rotation number detection unit 70 detects the rotation number of the rear wheel 22. The rear wheel rotation number detection unit 70 is attached to the rear wheel 22. The front wheel rotation number detection unit 60 and the rear wheel rotation number detection unit 70 are configured of, for example, a magnet and a lead sensor.

The electric motor 30 is mounted on the axle of the front wheel 21. The electric motor 30 generates an auxiliary driving force that assists the rotation of the front wheel 21. Specifically, the rotational force of the electric motor 30 is configured to be transmitted to the front wheels 21. The rotation of the electric motor 30 generates an auxiliary driving force on the front wheels 21. The electric motor 30 is configured of, for example, a brushless DC motor.
The driving force control unit 10 controls the auxiliary driving force. The battery 31 supplies power for driving the electric motor 30 and the driving force control unit 10. The battery 31 is detachably attached along the seat tube 14. The battery 31 is formed of, for example, a lithium ion secondary battery. The battery 31 can be repeatedly used by charging.

The notification device PN is attached to the handle 24. The driver sets the operation of the battery-assisted bicycle 1 from the notification device PN. Further, the driver confirms the notification of the information on the electrically assisted bicycle 1 from the notification device PN. Hereinafter, the details of the notification device PN will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of an outline of the notification device PN in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, a case where the notification device PN includes the power button PB, the light button LB, the remaining battery notification unit BL, the light notification unit LL, and the notification unit 40 will be described.
In this example, the case where the remaining battery notification unit BL, the light notification unit LL, and the notification unit 40 are LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) will be described.

The driver switches the activation and stop of the driving force control unit 10 by pressing the power button PB. In addition, the driver switches on and off of the headlight 17 by pressing the light button LB. When the headlight 17 is on, the light notification unit LL is on. When the headlight 17 is turned off, the light notification unit LL is turned off. Thereby, the driver confirms the lighting and extinguishing of the headlight 17 by confirming the light notification unit LL.
In addition, the remaining battery notification unit BL displays the remaining power amount of the battery 31. Thus, the driver confirms the remaining power amount of the battery 31 by checking the remaining battery notification unit BL.
When the battery-assisted bicycle 1 travels using the auxiliary driving force and the front wheel 21 including the electric motor 30 slips, the driving force control unit 10 controls the auxiliary driving force according to the slip. When the driving force control unit 10 controls the auxiliary driving force according to the slip, the notification unit 40 is turned on.

In addition, although the case where the notification part 40 was LED was demonstrated here, it is not restricted to this. The notification unit 40 may be a buzzer or a speaker, and may be notified by sound or voice that the auxiliary driving force has been controlled according to the slip.
Moreover, although the case where the notification part 40 lights, when the driving force control part 10 controls an auxiliary driving force according to a slip was demonstrated here, it is not restricted to this. When the driving force control unit 10 controls the auxiliary driving force according to the slip, the notifying unit 40 may blink, and the notifying unit 40 controls the auxiliary driving force according to the slip. May be notified in any way.

Hereinafter, control of the auxiliary driving force of the driving force control unit 10 according to the slip will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the driving force control unit 10 in the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 3, the driving force control unit 10 includes a slip determination unit 110 as a functional unit, an auxiliary driving force calculation unit 120, an auxiliary driving force correction unit 130, a notification control unit 140, and a storage unit 200. Equipped with The driving force control unit 10 is a CPU. In the storage unit 200, lighting time information TMI is stored. The lighting time information TMI is information indicating the time for lighting the notification unit 40 when the driving force control unit 10 controls the auxiliary driving force according to the slip, that is, the duration time of lighting.
The slip determination unit 110 acquires the number of rotations of the front wheel 21 from the front wheel rotation number detection unit 60. In addition, the slip determination unit 110 acquires, from the rear wheel rotation number detection unit 70, information indicating the rotation number of the rear wheel 22. The slip determination unit 110 determines whether or not the front wheel 21 is slipping based on the information indicating the number of rotations of the front wheel 21 and the information indicating the number of rotations of the rear wheel 22. Specifically, when the information indicating the rotation speed of the front wheel 21 and the information indicating the rotation speed of the rear wheel 22 are different, it is determined that the front wheel 21 is slipping. The slip determination unit 110 supplies the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 with the determination information JI, which is information indicating the determination result.

  Although the case where the motor-assisted bicycle 1 includes the rear wheel rotation number detection unit 70 has been described here, the present invention is not limited thereto. When the slip determination unit 110 determines whether or not a slip is occurring based on a change in speed of the front wheel 21, the battery-assisted bicycle 1 may include the front wheel rotation number detection unit 60. Specifically, the slip determination unit 110 may determine that a slip has occurred when the speed of the front wheel 21 changes more rapidly than a prescribed slope.

  The auxiliary driving force calculation unit 120 acquires the value of the input torque ITrq from the input torque detection unit 50. In addition, the auxiliary driving force calculation unit 120 acquires, from the front wheel rotation number detection unit 60, information indicating the rotation number of the front wheel 21. The auxiliary driving force calculation unit 120 calculates a target torque TTrq according to the input torque ITrq and the rotation speed of the front wheel 21. Here, a target value of torque generated by the rotation of the electric motor 30 is referred to as a target torque TTrq. The auxiliary driving force calculation unit 120 supplies the calculated target torque TTrq to the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130.

Auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 corrects target torque TTrq acquired from auxiliary driving force calculation unit 120 according to determination information JI acquired from slip determination unit 110.
Specifically, when the determination information JI indicates that the front wheel 21 is slipping, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 performs correction to reduce the target torque TTrq. In this case, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 sets a value after correction to reduce the target torque TTrq as the corrected torque CTrq, and outputs the control signal Sig based on the corrected torque CTrq to the motor drive circuit 45.
Further, when the determination information JI indicates that the front wheels 21 do not slip, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 does not correct the target torque TTrq. In this case, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 sets the target torque TTrq as the corrected torque CTrq as it is, and outputs the control signal Sig based on the corrected torque CTrq to the motor drive circuit 45. In this example, the case where the correction for reducing the target torque TTrq is a correction for setting the after-correction torque CTrq to 0 Nm will be described.
In addition, when the target torque TTrq is corrected, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 supplies the notification control unit 140 with slip control information SI indicating that the correction has been made.

The motor drive circuit 45 acquires the control signal Sig from the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130. The motor drive circuit 45 supplies a drive current to the electric motor 30 according to the control signal Sig.
The electric motor 30 is rotated by a torque corresponding to the drive current supplied by the motor drive circuit 45.
Here, the auxiliary driving force control is control that the driving force control unit 10 performs on the electric motor 30 when the determination information JI of the slip determination unit 110 indicates that the front wheel 21 is slipping. Further, the auxiliary driving force reduction control is control that the driving force control unit 10 performs on the electric motor 30 when the determination information JI of the slip determination unit 110 indicates that the front wheel 21 is not slipping. The driving force control unit 10 performs the auxiliary driving force control or the auxiliary driving force reduction control of the electric motor 30. Moreover, in this example, the case where the auxiliary driving force reduction control is control for stopping the current supply to the electric motor 30 will be described.

The notification control unit 140 controls lighting and extinguishing of the notification unit 40 based on the slip control information SI acquired from the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130. Specifically, the notification control unit 140 reads the lighting time information TMI from the storage unit 200. The notification control unit 140 performs control to turn on the notification unit 40 for the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI after acquiring the slip control information SI.
The notification unit 40 is turned on or off based on the control of the notification control unit 140.

Next, the operation of the driving force control unit 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the driving force control unit 10 in the present embodiment.
The auxiliary driving force calculation unit 120 acquires the value of the input torque ITrq from the input torque detection unit 50 (step S100). The auxiliary driving force calculation unit 120 calculates a target torque TTrq according to the input torque ITrq (step S110). The auxiliary driving force calculation unit 120 supplies the calculated target torque TTrq to the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 (step S120).
The slip determination unit 110 acquires the number of rotations of the front wheel 21 from the front wheel rotation number detection unit 60 (step S130). The slip determination unit 110 acquires the number of rotations of the rear wheel 22 from the rear wheel rotation number detection unit 70 (step S140). The slip determination unit 110 determines whether the front wheel 21 is slipping on the basis of the number of rotations of the front wheel 21 and the number of rotations of the rear wheel 22 (step S150). Slip determination unit 110 supplies determination information JI indicating the determination result to auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 (step S160).

  The auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 corrects the target torque TTrq acquired from the auxiliary driving force calculation unit 120 based on the determination information JI acquired from the slip determination unit 110 (step S170). When the determination information JI indicates that the front wheels 21 do not slip (step S170; NO), the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 does not correct the target torque TTrq, and sets the target torque TTrq as the corrected torque CTrq. A control signal Sig based on the post-correction torque CTrq is output to the motor drive circuit 45 (step S180). Further, when the determination information JI indicates that the front wheel 21 is slipping (step S170; YES), the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 performs the correction to reduce the target torque TTrq. The auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 outputs a control signal Sig based on the corrected torque CTrq obtained by correcting the target torque TTrq to the motor drive circuit 45 (step S190). In addition, when the target torque TTrq is corrected, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 supplies slip control information SI indicating that the correction has been made to the notification control unit 140 (step S200).

The motor drive circuit 45 supplies a drive current corresponding to the control signal Sig output from the auxiliary drive force correction unit 130 to the electric motor 30 (step S220).
Notification control unit 140 determines whether slip control information SI has been acquired from auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 (step S230). When notification control unit 140 acquires slip control information SI from auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 (step S230; YES), notification control unit 140 reads lighting time information TMI from storage unit 200. The notification control unit 140 performs control to turn on the notification unit 40 for the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI (step S240). On the other hand, when not controlling slip control information SI from auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 (step S230; NO), notification control unit 140 repeats the process of step S230. Thereafter, the driving force control unit 10 repeats the processing from step S100 to step S240.

Hereinafter, control of the driving force control unit 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a graph showing an example of control of the driving force control unit 10 in the present embodiment.
FIG. 5 shows a waveform WIT showing the time transition of the input torque ITrq. The input torque ITrq indicated by the waveform WIT is a value obtained by the auxiliary driving force calculator 120 at step S100 shown in FIG. 4 by the input torque ITrq detected by the input torque detector 50. Further, FIG. 5 shows a waveform WADS indicating time transition of the auxiliary driving force control signal ADS. Here, the auxiliary driving force control signal ADS is a signal output from the driving force control unit 10 and is a signal based on the control of the auxiliary driving force of the driving force control unit 10. Specifically, the auxiliary driving force control signal ADS is "1" when the driving force control unit 10 is performing the auxiliary driving force control, and when the driving force control unit 10 is not performing the auxiliary driving force control. Is a signal for which "0" is output. The auxiliary driving force control signal ADS indicated by the waveform WADC is “1” when the driving force control unit 10 is performing the auxiliary driving force control in step S180 of FIG. 4 and the driving force control unit 10 is in step S190. When the auxiliary driving force control is not performed, "0" is shown. In the present embodiment, when the driving force control unit 10 does not perform the auxiliary driving force control, the case where the driving force control unit 10 performs the auxiliary driving force reduction control is included. Further, FIG. 5 shows a waveform Wv indicating time transition of the speed of the front wheel 21.

In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis indicates time. The vertical axis represents speed and torque, respectively. Specifically, the left vertical axis indicates the speed of the front wheel 21. The right vertical axis indicates the values of the input torque ITrq and the post-correction torque CTrq. The change points of the input torque ITrq, the post-correction torque CTrq, and the speed of the front wheel 21 due to the time transition are referred to as time t1, time t2, time t3, time t4, time t5, and time t6, respectively.
In this example, a case where the battery-assisted bicycle 1 in a stopped state from time t0 to time t1 starts traveling from time t1 will be described. Further, in this example, the case where a slip occurs on the front wheel 21 from time t3 to time t4 will be described.

During a period from time t1 to time t6 when the travel of the battery-assisted bicycle 1 is stabilized, the driver of the battery-assisted bicycle 1 applies a pedal effort to the pedal 27, and the input torque ITrq shown by the waveform WIT gradually increases from 0 Nm.
In the case of this example, a slip occurs on the front wheel 21 from time t3 to time t4. Along with the slip, the velocity of the front wheel 21 indicated by the waveform Wv rises from 3 km / h to 8 km / h from time t3 to time t4.
At time t4, the slip determination unit 110 supplies the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 with the determination information JI indicating the determination that the front wheel 21 is slipping.
At time t4, auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 starts auxiliary driving force reduction control based on determination information JI. Specifically, at time t4, in the process of step S170 shown in FIG. 4, the determination information JI indicates that a slip has occurred.
Further, at time t4, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 supplies the slip control information SI to the notification control unit 140. Specifically, at time t4, auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 performs the processing of step S190 and step S200 shown in FIG. Along with this, at time t4, the auxiliary driving force control signal ADS indicated by the waveform WADS changes from "1" to "0". Also, at time t4, the current supply to the electric motor 30 is stopped.

  The auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 performs auxiliary driving force reduction control from time t4 to time t6. That is, from time t4 to time t6, the assist driving force control signal ADS indicated by the waveform WADS is constant at zero. Further, from time t4 to time t6, the current supply to the electric motor 30 is stopped, and the front wheel 21 loses the driving force. As a result, the slip occurring on the front wheel 21 is contained, and the speed of the front wheel 21 indicated by the waveform Wv decreases from 8 km / h to 3 km / h from time t4 to time t5.

  At time t6, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 performs auxiliary driving force control. As a result, at time t6, the auxiliary driving force control signal ADS indicated by the waveform WADS changes from "0" to "1".

Next, details of control of the notification control unit 140 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a graph showing an example of control of the notification control unit 140 in the present embodiment.
FIG. 6A shows the change of the auxiliary driving force control signal ADS and the notification when the slip is not generated again within the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI after the notification control unit 140 starts lighting of the notification unit 40. It is a graph which shows an example with operation | movement of the control part 140. FIG. FIG. 6B shows the change of the auxiliary driving force control signal ADS and the notification control unit in the case where the slip occurs again within the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI after the notification control unit 140 starts lighting of the notification unit 40. It is a graph which shows an example of 140 operation | movement.
FIG. 6A shows a waveform WADS1 indicating the auxiliary driving force control signal ADS. Further, FIG. 6A shows a waveform WLC1 indicating control in which the notification control unit 140 turns on the notification unit 40 for a time indicated by the lighting time information TMI.
FIG. 6B shows a waveform WADS2 indicating the auxiliary driving force control signal ADS. Further, FIG. 6B shows control in which the notification control unit 140 turns on the notification unit 40 for the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI. A waveform WLC2 is shown.

First, the operation of the notification control unit 140 will be described with reference to FIG. In this example, after the notification control unit 140 starts lighting of the notification unit 40, a case where the slip does not occur again within the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI will be described. Specifically, a description will be given of the case where the slip does not occur again within the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI after the occurrence of the slip at time t11.
At time t11, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 performs the auxiliary driving force reduction control in response to the occurrence of the slip. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6A, at time t11, the auxiliary driving force control signal ADS indicated by the waveform WADS1 changes from "1" to "0". In addition, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 supplies the determination information JI to the notification control unit 140 as the auxiliary driving force reduction control is performed.
When the notification control unit 140 acquires the determination information JI from the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130, the notification control unit 140 performs control to turn off the notification unit 40 after lighting for the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI. In this example, the case where the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI is 3 seconds will be described. That is, when the notification control unit 140 acquires the determination information JI from the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130, the notification control unit 140 performs control to turn on the notification unit 40 for 3 seconds and then turn it off.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6B, the operation of the notification control unit 140 will be described. In this example, the case where the slip occurs again within the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI after the notification control unit 140 starts lighting of the notification unit 40 will be described. Specifically, the case where the slip occurs again at time t12 after the occurrence of the slip at time t11 will be described.
At time t11, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 performs the auxiliary driving force reduction control in response to the occurrence of the slip. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6B, at time t11, the auxiliary driving force control signal ADS indicated by the waveform WADS2 changes from "1" to "0". In addition, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 supplies the determination information JI to the notification control unit 140 as the auxiliary driving force reduction control is performed.
When the notification control unit 140 acquires the determination information JI from the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130, the notification control unit 140 performs control to turn on the notification unit 40 for 3 seconds and then turn it off.

At time t12, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 performs the auxiliary driving force reduction control in response to the occurrence of the slip. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6B, at time t12, the auxiliary driving force control signal ADS indicated by the waveform WADS2 changes from "1" to "0". In addition, the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 supplies the determination information JI to the notification control unit 140 as the auxiliary driving force reduction control is performed.
Even when the notification control unit 140 acquires the determination information JI again during the control in which the notification unit 40 is turned on for the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI, a notification is generated after a lapse of time since the first acquisition of the determination information JI. Control to turn off the unit 40 is performed. Specifically, in this example, when the notification control unit 140 acquires the determination information JI again within 3 seconds after starting the lighting of the notification unit 40, 3 seconds have elapsed since the first acquisition of the determination information JI. Control to turn off the notification unit 40 later is performed.

In addition, although the case where the time which lighting time information TMI shows is 3 seconds was demonstrated here, it is not restricted to this. The time indicated by the lighting time information TMI at which the notification control unit 140 turns on the notification unit 40 may be any time as long as the driver can recognize that the assist driving force reduction control has been performed. .
In addition, although the case where the determination information JI is supplied along with the auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 performing the auxiliary driving force reduction control has been described here, the present invention is not limited thereto. The auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 may supply the determination information JI as the auxiliary driving force reduction control is finished.
Furthermore, here, even when the notification control unit 140 acquires the determination information JI again during control to turn on the notification unit 40 for the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI, the notification control unit 140 firstly acquires the determination information JI. Although the case where control which turns off the notification part 40 was performed after time progress was demonstrated, it is not restricted to this. The notification control unit 140 may extend the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI each time the determination information JI is acquired. Specifically, for example, when the notification control unit 140 acquires the determination information JI again during control to turn on the notification unit 40 for the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI, the notification control unit 140 acquires the acquired determination information JI and then turns on. Control may be performed to turn off the notification unit 40 after the time indicated by the time information TMI.
Furthermore, here, even when the notification control unit 140 acquires the determination information JI again during control to turn on the notification unit 40 for the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI, the notification control unit 140 firstly acquires the determination information JI. Although the case where control which turns off the notification part 40 was performed after time progress was demonstrated, it is not restricted to this. The notification control unit 140 may continue the control of lighting the notification unit 40 even when the determination information JI is acquired again within a certain time after the acquisition of the determination information JI. Specifically, when the notification control unit 140 acquires the determination information JI again during the first 10 seconds after acquiring the determination information JI, the notification control unit 140 notifies after 3 seconds have elapsed since the first acquisition of the determination information JI. The control to turn off the unit 40 may not be performed, and the control to turn on the notification unit 40 may not be performed based on the other determination information JI.

  As explained above, the battery-assisted bicycle 1 includes the driving force control unit 10 and the notification device PN. The driving force control unit 10 performs auxiliary driving force control that causes the electric motor 30 to generate an auxiliary driving force corresponding to the input torque ITrq due to the pedaling force applied to the pedal, and the front wheel driven by the auxiliary driving force that the electric motor 30 generates. When a slip has occurred in S. 21, auxiliary driving force reduction control is performed to reduce the auxiliary driving force. The notification device PN includes a notification unit 40. The notification control unit 140 performs control of lighting the notification unit 40 based on the operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control in the control by the driving force control unit 10.

That is, according to the present embodiment, the notification device PN is provided with the notification that the electric motor 30 is subjected to the auxiliary driving force reduction control in accordance with the occurrence of the slip on the front wheel 21 to which the electric motor 30 supplies the auxiliary driving force. The notification unit 40 can notify. Thereby, the driver can recognize the notification indicating that the driving force control unit 10 performs the auxiliary driving force reduction control of the electric motor 30 by checking the notification device PN.
In the related art, when the electric motor 30 is subjected to the auxiliary driving force reduction control due to the occurrence of the slip on the front wheel 21, the driver can not recognize the presence or absence of the auxiliary driving force reduction control. As a result, the driver may mistakenly recognize that the electric motor 30 has been subjected to the auxiliary driving force reduction control as a failure of the electrically assisted bicycle 1. According to the present embodiment, when the electric motor 30 is subjected to the assist driving force reduction control, the driver can recognize the assist driving force reduction control by confirming the notification device PN.

  In addition, the storage unit 200 stores lighting time information TMI in advance. The notification control unit 140 included in the notification device PN performs control to light the notification unit 40 in response to the start of the auxiliary driving force reduction control by the driving force control unit 10. Further, the notification control unit 140 starts the control of lighting the notification unit 40 in response to the start of the auxiliary driving force reduction control by the driving force control unit 10, and the lighting time information TMI elapses from the start. Control is performed to turn off the notification unit 40 accordingly. As a result, the driver can recognize that the assist driving force reduction control has been performed by checking the notification device PN, even if the assist driving force reduction control is performed in a short period.

  Further, the notification control unit 140 performs control of lighting the notification unit 40 provided in the notification device PN based on the determination information JI for the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI. The notification control unit 140 turns on the notification unit 40 included in the notification device PN when the slip occurs during the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI and the determination information JI is acquired by performing the auxiliary driving force reduction control. And turns off the notification unit 40 after the time indicated by the lighting time information TMI. Thereby, even when the auxiliary driving force reduction control of the electric motor 30 is performed in a short period, it is possible to reduce that the driver feels that the notification of the notification unit 40 is complicated.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a second schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the driving force control unit 10 in the present embodiment. In addition, about the structure and operation | movement similar to 1st Embodiment mentioned above, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.
The present embodiment further includes an abnormality determination unit 160 as a functional unit of the driving force control unit 10 of the first embodiment. The abnormality determination unit 160 determines whether the driving force control unit 10 can control the battery-assisted bicycle 1.
Specifically, abnormality determination unit 160 determines whether or not front wheel rotational speed detection unit 60 has a failure. For example, when the input torque ITrq acquired from the front wheel rotation speed detection unit 60 indicates an abnormal value, the abnormality determination unit 160 determines that the front wheel rotation speed detection unit 60 is broken. In this example, the abnormality determination unit 160 determines whether there is a failure in the front wheel rotation number detection unit 60, the rear wheel rotation number detection unit 70, and the input torque detection unit 50. Thereby, the abnormality determination unit 160 determines whether or not the driving force control unit 10 can control the battery-assisted bicycle 1. The abnormality determination unit 160 supplies the notification control unit 140 with the abnormality information EI indicating the result of the determination as to whether or not the driving force control unit 10 can control the electrically assisted bicycle 1.
When the abnormality information EI is supplied, the notification control unit 140 performs a notification indicating that the driving force control unit 10 is in an abnormal state, that is, an abnormality notification. The notification control unit 140 can perform abnormality notification in various modes. For example, the notification control unit 140 lights up the notification unit 40 when the abnormality information EI is supplied. In this case, the notification control unit 140 turns on the notification unit 40 based on the abnormality information EI acquired from the abnormality determination unit 160 in addition to turning on the notification unit 40 based on the slip control information SI. That is, in this case, the notification unit 40 lights up in two cases, that is, the case where slip control is performed and the case where the driving force control unit 10 is in an abnormal state.

Next, an outline of the notification device PN will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a second schematic diagram showing an example of the main part of the notification device PN in the present embodiment.
In the present embodiment, a case where the remaining battery notification unit BL is configured of five lamps will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, the remaining battery notification unit BL includes the lamps BL1 to BL5.
In this example, the notification control unit 140 performs notification based on the abnormality information EI and notification based on the slip control information SI by the notification unit 40. Further, the notification control unit 140 changes the mode of notification based on the notification based on the abnormality information EI, that is, the case of performing the abnormality notification, and the case based on the slip control information SI, that is, the case of performing the slip control notification. The slip control notification is also referred to as a reduction notification. Also, when the notification unit 40 performs the reduction notification, the notification unit 40 is also referred to as a reduction notification unit, and when the notification unit 40 performs an abnormality notification, the notification unit 40 is also referred to as an abnormality notification unit.
The notification control unit 140, which will be described in more detail, performs notification by the notification unit 40 when performing notification of abnormality, and notifies by the lamps BL1 to BL5 of the remaining battery notification unit BL. Here, the notification control unit 140 can also notify the content of the abnormality by the light emission pattern of the lamps BL1 to BL5. For example, the notification control unit 140 changes the light emission pattern of the lamps BL1 to BL5 in the case where an abnormality occurs in the input torque detection unit 50 and in the case where an abnormality occurs in the front wheel rotation speed detection unit 60. As an example, when an abnormality occurs in the input torque detection unit 50, the notification control unit 140 turns on the lamp BL1 in addition to the notification by the notification unit 40. Further, when an abnormality occurs in the electric motor 30, the notification control unit 140 turns on the lamp BL5 in addition to the notification by the notification unit 40.
When the notification control unit 140 performs slip control notification, the notification unit 40 performs notification, but does not perform notification by the lamps BL1 to BL5 of the remaining battery notification unit BL.
In the case where the notification control unit 140 performs abnormality notification when the remaining battery notification unit BL notifies the remaining battery capacity, the notification control unit 140 changes the luminance of the lamps BL1 to BL5 to change the remaining battery capacity. The notification and the notification of the content of the abnormality can be simultaneously performed. Specifically, the notification control unit 140 notifies the battery remaining amount by causing the lamps of the number corresponding to the battery remaining amount among the lamps BL1 to BL5 to emit light with low luminance. Further, the notification control unit 140 notifies the content of the abnormality by causing the lamp corresponding to the content of the abnormality among the lamps BL1 to BL5 to emit light with high luminance.

When the notification control unit 140 performs slip control notification and abnormality notification by one notification unit 40, the notification control unit 140 gives priority to abnormality notification over slip control notification. Details of the operation performed by the notification control unit 140 giving priority to abnormality notification will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a second flow chart showing an example of the operation of the driving force control unit 10 in the present embodiment.
The abnormality determination unit 160 supplies the abnormality information EI to the notification control unit 140 (step S300). The notification control unit 140 acquires the abnormality information EI from the abnormality determination unit 160 (step S310). The abnormality information EI includes information indicating the content of the abnormality. Here, a case where an abnormality occurs in the electric motor 30, that is, a case where information indicating that an abnormality occurs in the electric motor 30 is included in the abnormality information EI will be described as an example. In the case of this example, when an abnormality occurs in the electric motor 30, the notification control unit 140 determines that the auxiliary bicycle 1 can not normally travel. Specifically, the notification control unit 140 performs control to turn on the lamp BL5 when the abnormality information EI indicates that the electrically assisted bicycle 1 can not normally travel (step S310; YES) (step S310). S320). Further, when the abnormality information EI indicates that the electrically assisted bicycle 1 can normally travel (step S310; NO), the notification control unit 140 proceeds the process to step S240. If notification control unit 140 has not acquired slip control information SI from auxiliary driving force correction unit 130 (step S230; NO), processing proceeds to step S300.
Thereafter, the driving force control unit 10 repeats the processing from step S100 to step S320.

  As described above, the driving force control unit 10 further includes the abnormality determination unit 160. The notification control unit 140 performs control of lighting the notification unit 40 based on the slip control information SI and control of changing the lighting mode of the remaining battery notification unit BL based on the abnormality information EI. Thereby, the visibility of the information related to the travel of the battery-assisted bicycle 1 can be improved while suppressing an increase in new parts such as LEDs.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and appropriate changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. it can. You may combine the structure as described in each embodiment mentioned above.

  Note that each unit included in the driving force control unit 10 in the above embodiment may be realized by dedicated hardware, or may be realized by a memory and a microprocessor.

  Each unit included in the driving force control unit 10 includes a memory and a CPU (central processing unit), and a program for realizing the function of each unit included in the driving force control unit 10 is loaded into the memory and executed. The function may be realized.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Motor-assisted bicycle PN notification device 21 front wheel 22 rear wheel 30 electric motor 31 battery 10 driving force control unit 110 slip determination unit 120 auxiliary driving force calculation unit 130 auxiliary driving force correction unit 140 notification control unit 150 current control unit 160 abnormality determination unit 40 Notification unit BL Battery remaining notification unit

Claims (5)

Among the control by the driving force control unit that performs the auxiliary driving force control that causes the electric motor to generate the auxiliary driving force according to the input torque by the pedal effort applied to the pedal and the auxiliary driving force reduction control that reduces the auxiliary driving force. A reduction notification unit that performs reduction notification indicating that the auxiliary driving force reduction control has been performed based on the operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control ;
And a storage unit that stores the duration of the reduction notification.
In the first case, the reduction notification unit
The reduction notification is started in response to the start of the operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control by the driving force control unit, and the reduction notification is started in response to the continuation time from the start of the reduction notification. Finished
The reduction notification unit
In the second case where the operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control is started again while the reduction notification according to the start of the operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control is performed, the second operation starts. Regardless, the reduction notification is ended in response to the continuation time from the start of the reduction notification,
In the second case,
At the first time, in response to the occurrence of the slip on the wheel driven by the auxiliary driving force, the reduction notification corresponding to the start of the operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control is started.
Subsequently, when the wheel in which the slip has occurred at the first time is not slipped, although the auxiliary driving force reduction control is not performed, the reduction notification is continued.
Next, in response to the occurrence of the slip on the wheel again at the second time, the operation of the auxiliary driving force reduction control is started, and the reduction notification is continued.
Subsequently, the reduction notification is ended in response to the continuation of the duration from the first time . An abnormality notification unit that performs abnormality notification indicating that the driving force control unit is in an abnormal state
And further
The notification device according to claim 1, wherein the abnormality notification by the abnormality notification unit is performed prior to the reduction notification by the reduction notification unit. An abnormal content notification unit that performs notification indicating the content of the abnormal condition
And further
The abnormal content notification unit performs notification indicating the content of the abnormal condition when the abnormal notification unit performs the abnormal notification, and when the reduction notification unit performs the reduction notification, the abnormal content notification unit The notification device according to claim 2, wherein the notification indicating the content is not performed . The reduction notification unit
When a slip occurs on the wheel driven by the auxiliary driving force generated by the electric motor, the reduction notification indicating that the auxiliary driving force reduction control has been performed is performed. The notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
An electrically assisted bicycle characterized by comprising:

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