JPH10114293A - Bicycle with electric power assist device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To supply assist power smoothly by reducing the number of samples which calculate an average travel value when bicycle speed is high more than when the speed is low. SOLUTION: A calculation means 220 which calculates an average travel value of pedaling force is connected to a memory means 210 to send bicycle speed detected by a speed sensor 160 to the calculation means 220 sequentially. Moreover, a sample table 230 is connected to the calculation means 220, and the sample determined number for determining the number of samples for calculating the average travel value of pedaling force by corresponding to bicycle speed which is determined in advance is stored therein. The pedaling force is read out from the memory means 210 by the number of samples which is determined in accordance with bicycle speed detected by a torque sensor 100, the average travel value is calculated from the pedaling force which is read out, and an output of a motor 40 is controlled so that power which corresponds to the average travel value which is calculated is supplemented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bicycle with an electric auxiliary power device that travels with the assistance of power from an electric auxiliary power device during manual driving.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electric auxiliary power unit including a motor and a speed reduction mechanism is provided on a bicycle, and power is supplied from the electric auxiliary power unit during traveling on an uphill or the like to enable easy traveling. Bicycles with equipment are widely known.
The method of assisting power during traveling is performed by detecting a torque transmitted to a crankshaft during traveling, that is, a magnitude of a pedaling force value (hereinafter referred to as a pedaling force) generated by depressing a pedal, using torque detecting means. The output of the motor is controlled to increase or decrease in accordance with the output of the detecting means, that is, the magnitude of the pedaling force, so that the power corresponding to the pedaling force is assisted to enable easy traveling.

On the other hand, the depressing force of the pedal transmitted to the crankshaft during traveling is always fluctuating because the depressing force is not constant even when the pedal is depressed. Since the torque detecting means detects and outputs this fluctuating treading force, directly controlling the motor based on this detection output can assist the power in response to the fluctuating treading force. There is an advantage that power can be assisted with good response to the pedaling force at the time. However, as described above, the pedaling force applied to the pedal during traveling is always fluctuating, and the pedaling force is compared with the detection period of the pedaling force (the time interval from the detection at one point to the detection of the next pedaling force). Since the fluctuation period (the time interval during which the pedal force fluctuates when the pedal is depressed) is extremely long, if the control is performed to increase or decrease the assisting power by controlling the motor using the pedal force detected in the short detection period as it is, When the pedal is depressed, the pedal becomes intermittently heavy or light because the smoothness of the assisted power is impaired. The taste is not good. This means that the pedaling force is relatively stable when the vehicle speed is high, so the assisted power is also stable, that is, the state becomes smooth, and the uncomfortable feeling is reduced. The phenomenon that the smoothness of the generated power is impaired and the riding quality is not good is remarkable.

[0004] As described above, the conventional bicycle with an electric auxiliary power device has a problem that the smoothness of the assisted power is impaired in a low-speed running state and the ride is not good.

[0005] Therefore, in order to smooth the running when assisting the power during the driving, that is, in order to reduce the fluctuation width of the auxiliary power, a device has been devised. One of the methods is to read the pedaling force applied to the pedal which fluctuates during traveling by the torque detecting means by a control device such as a microcomputer at a constant period and at a predetermined time interval within this period. The treading force read every time is sequentially stored in the storage means, and a predetermined number of the stored treading forces is taken out as a sample number, averaged to calculate a moving average value of the treading force, and determined in accordance with the moving average value. It is conceivable that the motor is controlled so as to assist power of a different magnitude to obtain smoothness of the auxiliary power. That is, since the moving tread force calculated based on a predetermined number of samples extracted from these treading forces has a property of being averaged compared to the actual treading force, the fluctuating treading force is detected at predetermined time intervals. By controlling the motor using the average value, in low-speed running such as at the time of starting, the supplied auxiliary power is smoothed and the riding quality is improved.

[0006] To improve the smoothness of the auxiliary power,
It is only necessary to increase the number of samples for obtaining the moving average value.On the other hand, if this number of samples is increased, it takes time to obtain the number of samples. And the power difference is not increased and the power is not assisted in response to a change in the pedaling force when the pedal is depressed. This means that in a high-speed running state in which the vehicle speed is high, the driver feels that the driving force is not sufficiently assisted, that is, the driving power is not sufficiently assisted, and the driver does not have a satisfactory riding experience. In other words, when the number of samples is increased, the transition of the moving average value is smoothed, so there is an advantage in low-speed running where priority is given to elimination of the above-mentioned discomfort over responsiveness, but it is an advantage in high-speed running where responsiveness is required. As a result, the responsiveness to the stepping-in of the delayed power is deteriorated, resulting in a phenomenon that the feeling of power is impaired as described above.

FIG. 11 shows the relationship between the transition of the pedaling force and the transition of the moving average value when the number of samples is changed. This figure shows the relationship between the pedal effort and the moving average value of the pedal effort at the time when the bicycle A is accelerated substantially linearly and the curve A in the figure is shown.
The curve (solid line) indicates a change, that is, a change in the pedal effort when the pedal is depressed.
Shows the transition of the moving average value when the number of samples taken out from the pedaling force is three, and the curve C
(Dashed line) shows the transition when the number of samples is five.

As can be seen from the curves in FIG. 1, it can be seen that the smoother, that is, the curve becomes smoother as the number of samples for obtaining the moving average value increases. Further, it can be seen that as the number of samples increases, the phase (phase in the X-axis direction) lags behind the pedaling force, the phase difference increases, and the peak value H also decreases. In addition, the detection of the pedaling force during traveling by the torque detecting means is performed at a constant cycle regardless of the vehicle speed.
This cycle is detected at predetermined time intervals, that is, at predetermined time intervals within this cycle, and a predetermined number is extracted as a sample number from the treading force detected at each predetermined time, and the average value is calculated. As can be seen from C, as the vehicle speed increases, the phase difference increases and the peak value decreases.

When the phase difference increases, the responsiveness to the fluctuating treading force during running deteriorates as described above, and the feeling of force is impaired as described above. A phenomenon occurs in which the stepping force becomes heavier. This becomes more pronounced as the vehicle speed increases.

[0010]

As described above, in the conventional bicycle with an electric auxiliary power unit, when assisting the power in accordance with the pedaling force of the pedal, it is not possible to supply a smooth auxiliary power, so that the pedal is depressed. However, there is a problem that smoothness cannot be obtained because smoothness is not obtained.Also, as described above, it is conceivable to assist the power according to the moving average value of the pedaling force, but when the moving average value is simply used. Although the above conventional problem at the time of low-speed running is solved,
In high-speed running, the responsiveness of the assisted power becomes poor, and a sense of power cannot be obtained.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the invention according to claim 1 detects the pedaling force of a pedal a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time, and stores each detected pedaling force. Means, a predetermined number of samples are taken out from the stored treading force by the calculating means to determine a moving average of the treading force, and the output of the motor is controlled based on the moving average to assist the power corresponding to the treading force. A bicycle with an electric assist power device, wherein the vehicle speed is detected by vehicle speed detecting means, and the number of samples for calculating the moving average is smaller when the vehicle speed is higher than when the vehicle speed is lower. It was a bicycle.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a detecting means for detecting a pedaling force value of a pedal, and a pedaling force value which fluctuates during detection by the detecting means is read at a constant period and at a predetermined time interval within the period. Storage means for storing values, vehicle speed detection means for detecting vehicle speed, a motor for supplying auxiliary power by supplying power from a power supply, and a large number of sample determinations for a low vehicle speed and a large number of sample determinations for a low vehicle speed. A sample table in which a small number of sample determinations are set, and a retrospective value from the latest pedaling force value corresponding to the number of sample determinations corresponding to the vehicle speed read from the sample table based on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detection means. Calculating means for calculating a moving average value from the sum of the pedaling force values read from the storage means; and a motor control circuit for driving the motor based on a result of the calculating means. It is obtained by an electric auxiliary power unit Bicycles for assisting power by controlling the output of the motor based on the moving average value of the calculated pedal force by the calculation means. According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, when the vehicle speed is low, a moving average value of the pedaling force is calculated based on a large number of samples, and power is assisted based on the moving average value. As a result, the assisted power is smoothed in a running state where the pedaling force is not stable and the vehicle speed is small, so that a smooth riding feeling can be obtained, and when the vehicle speed increases, the assisting power is reduced based on a small number of samples. Since the moving average of the pedaling force is calculated and the power is assisted based on the moving average, the pedaling force is compared with the pedaling force in a running state at a high vehicle speed where the pedaling force is stable and the power does not require much smoothness. This has the effect of reducing the phase difference, improving the responsiveness to the depression, and reducing the decrease in the peak value, thereby preventing the pedal from becoming heavy.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the number of determined samples set in the sample table is determined based on a phase difference between the transition of the treading force value and the transition of the moving averaged treading force value. This is a bicycle with an electric auxiliary power device in which the ratio of the cycle of the transition of the pedaling force value is set to be substantially constant regardless of the vehicle speed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the ratio of the period of the transition of the pedaling force to the phase of the transition of the pedaling force and the transition of the moving average value of the pedaling force is substantially constant irrespective of the vehicle speed. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 2, the responsiveness of the auxiliary power supplied in response to the pedaling force during traveling can be made substantially constant regardless of the vehicle speed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a detecting means for detecting a pedaling force value of a pedal, and a pedaling force value which fluctuates during the detection by the detecting means is read at a constant period within this period at a predetermined time interval. Storage means for storing the respective values, a vehicle speed detection means for detecting a vehicle speed, a motor for supplying auxiliary power by supplying power from a power supply, and a motor read from the storage means retroactively from the latest pedaling force value. Calculating means for calculating a moving average value from the sum of the pedaling force values; vehicle speed determining means for determining whether the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means exceeds a predetermined value; and a motor control circuit for driving the motor. When the vehicle speed is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the power is controlled by controlling the output of a motor based on the pedaling force value detected by the detection means when the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined value, based on the moving average value of the pedaling force value. It is obtained by an electric auxiliary power unit bicycle with the assistant.

The invention according to claim 4 having such a structure has the same operation as the invention according to claim 2 when the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, and when the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined value, the pedaling force is reduced. Since the power is assisted according to the pedal effort without calculating the moving average value, the responsiveness of the assist power supply corresponding to the pedal effort during high-speed running can be further improved. Have

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in the figure,
A bicycle with an auxiliary power unit (hereinafter simply referred to as a bicycle) A is
The vehicle body B includes an auxiliary power unit (hereinafter simply referred to as a power unit) C attached to the vehicle body B. The vehicle body B has a vertical pipe 2 and a lower pipe 3 having one end fixed to a hanger lug 1, a head pipe 4 fixed to the other end of the lower pipe 3, and one end fixed to a head pipe 4. A frame 6 comprising an upper pipe 5 fixed to a lower portion of the upright pipe 2; a chain stay 7 having one end fixed to the hanger lug 1; a front fork 8 attached to the head pipe 4; , A front wheel 10 attached to the lower end of the front fork 8, one end is fixed to the upper part of the standing pipe 2 and the other end is not shown as the other end of the chain stay 7. A back fork 11 fixed via a rear pawl, a rear wheel 12 attached to the other end of the chain stay 7, a saddle 13 attached above the upright pipe 2, and an upper part of the rear wheel And a digit receiving platform 14 or the like.

The hanger lug 1 is provided with a crankshaft 80 to be described later, which is rotatable.
A left crank 81 and a right crank 82 provided with pedals 81a and 82a, respectively, are attached to both ends. A battery case 14a containing a battery 14b as a power supply is attached to an upper portion of the loading tray 14. The battery 14b is supplied with electric power via a lead 16 to a motor 40 and the like described later. Further, a sprocket 17 for transmitting a rotational force during traveling and a sprocket 1 (not shown) of the rear wheel 12 are provided.
A chain 18 is hung on 7.

Next, the structure of the power unit C will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG.
Is a case 2 composed of a case body 23 and a lid case 25.
0, the motor 40 attached to the case 20;
The case 20 is constituted by a speed reduction mechanism 50.
Is provided with a hollow shaft 70 which is mounted via a bearing and to which rotational force is transmitted from the speed reduction mechanism 50, and a crankshaft 80 penetrating through the hollow shaft 70. In the case 20, a microcomputer, a ROM,
The control device 300 including a RAM and the like is housed.

The case body 23 houses the speed reduction mechanism 50, the control device 300, and the like. The reduction mechanism 50 includes a gear 51 attached to a tip end of an output shaft 41 of the motor 40, a large-diameter gear 52 meshing with the gear 51, a small-diameter gear 53 provided integrally with the gear 52, A gear 54 composed of a large-diameter gear 54b and a bevel gear 54c meshing with the gear 53, a bevel gear 55 meshing with the bevel gear 54c, and a shaft 55a mounted on the same shaft as the shaft on which the bevel gear 55 is mounted. The gear 55b includes a drive gear 56 that meshes with the gear 55b.

The gear 55b is mounted on the shaft 55a via a one-way clutch 55f.
The one-way clutch 55f rotates the gear 55b so as to transmit the torque of the motor 40 to the drive gear 56 so that the bicycle travels normally, that is, travels in the forward direction, but idles in the opposite direction. It works like that. In other words, the one-way clutch 55f functions so as to idle when the cranks 81, 82 to which the pedals 81a, 82a are attached rotate in the traveling direction during manual driving described below.

A shaft hole 56a is formed in the center of the driving gear 56, and the shaft hole 56a has
2c are formed on the side surface of the drive gear 56 on the side of the lid case 25 and concentrically arranged on the outer periphery of the shaft hole 56a as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 (three in the embodiment, FIG. 2). , FIG.
(Only one is shown in the figure), and the projection 57 is formed in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.
As shown in the drawing, an inclined surface 57a that gradually rises upward along the direction in which the vehicle rotates during traveling is formed. On the side surface of the drive gear 56 on the side of the lid case 25, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality (3 in this embodiment) disposed concentrically with the shaft hole 56a between the adjacent protrusions 57. An L-shaped regulating member 58 that regulates one end of a compression spring 60 described later (only one is shown in FIG. 3) is formed.

The hollow shaft 70 for transmitting the power of the motor 40, that is, the rotational force transmitted through the reduction mechanism 50, to the sprocket 17, is fitted into a shaft hole 56a formed in the drive gear 56. The hollow shaft 70 is rotatably provided on the hanger lug 1 and has a through hole 7 therein.
1 and at one end thereof, a concave / convex ridge 72 is formed to engage with the concave / convex ridge 56c formed in the shaft hole 56a. The shaft 70 is prevented from rotating in the direction, so that the hollow shaft 70 rotates integrally with the drive gear 56. Also,
A mounting member 17a to which the sprocket 17 is mounted is mounted on the other end of the hollow shaft 70.
The hollow shaft 70 is press-fitted into the inner race of the ball bearing 77 in the vicinity of the area where the concave and convex strips 72 are formed. Is attached to the case body 23.

A crankshaft 80 is rotatably provided through the through hole 71 of the hollow shaft 70, and mounting portions 83 and 84 are formed at both ends of the crankshaft 80, respectively.

A one-way clutch 85 is attached to the crankshaft 80 at a position close to the drive gear 56 attached to the hollow shaft 70, and is connected to the crankshaft 80 via the one-way clutch 85. Has a drive plate 90 attached. The one-way clutch 85
Are pedals 81a, 82 when the crankshaft 80 is running manually.
a is rotated in the traveling direction by the attached cranks 81 and 82, the drive plate 90 is rotated,
On the contrary, when the crankshaft 80 rotates, it idles,
It functions so as not to rotate the driving plate 90. A disk-shaped flange portion 91 is formed on the cover case 25 side of the drive plate 90 at a predetermined distance so as to form a space between the drive plate 56 and the side surface of the drive gear 56. As shown in FIG. 3, a compression portion 92 is formed on the surface of the portion 91 on the side of the drive gear 56 to abut on the other end of the compression spring 60 to compress. The compression spring 60 is disposed between the L-shaped regulating member 58 and the compression section 92.

The magnitude of the urging force of the compression spring 60 is adjusted so as to be compressed in accordance with the rotational force applied to the drive plate 90 via the crankshaft 80 and the one-way clutch 85 during manual driving. Is set. That is, in the case of manual running, the driving gear 56 is set so as to move relative to the driving gear 56 in accordance with the rotational force of the driving plate 90 which rotates together with the one-way clutch 85 with the rotation of the crankshaft 80. It is.

Further, the flange portion 91 of the drive plate 90 includes:
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, three through holes 93 (only one is shown in FIGS. 2 and 5) are formed at portions corresponding to the protrusions 57 formed on the side surface of the drive gear 56.

An offset plate 95 made of an annular plate is disposed so as to be able to contact and separate from the flange portion 91, and the offset plate 95 is provided with the through holes 9 respectively.
A slide shaft 96 is provided at a position corresponding to 3 and integrally fixed so as to penetrate an end on one end side into the through hole 93. A spherical projection 96a is formed at the other end of the slide shaft 96. The spherical projection 96a is formed on the inclined surface 57a of the projection 57 formed on the drive gear 56.
The coil spring 97 is biased so as to be pressed against the deflection plate 95. That is, the eccentric plate 95 allows the slide shaft 96 fixed to the eccentric plate 95 to pass through the through hole 93 of the flange portion 91 and is urged by the coil spring 97 so that the spherical projection 96a is formed on the inclined surface 57a. It is arranged between the drive gear 56 and the drive plate 90 so as to be able to move in the axial direction of the crankshaft 80 in a state of being pressed.

When the pedaling force of the pedals 81a, 82a is applied to the crankshaft 80 via the cranks 81, 82, the rotational force is transmitted to the drive plate 90 via a one-way clutch 85 attached to the crankshaft 80. When the driving plate 90 is rotated, and the vehicle is in an accelerated state such as traveling on an uphill during traveling, the pedals 81a and 82a are depressed more strongly than before, so that this pedal 8
Relative movement according to the treading force between a drive plate 90 attached via a one-way clutch 85 to a crankshaft 80 rotated by a treading force of 1a, 82a and a driving gear 56 rotating integrally with the hollow shaft 70. Will occur. In other words, by strongly depressing the pedals 81a and 82a to accelerate the bicycle A and increasing the stepping force, the driving plate 90
The compression spring 60 provided between the drive gear 56 and the drive gear 56 is compressed, and the drive plate 90 rotates ahead of the drive gear 56 by an amount corresponding to the pedaling force. Spherical projection 96a of the slide shaft 96
Moves upward along the inclined surface 57a of the projection 57 provided on the drive gear 56, and along with this movement, the coil spring 97 is compressed, and the deflection plate 95 moves in a direction away from the drive gear 56, that is, the deflection plate 95 moves. Will be ranked.

Then, the deflection plate 95 is connected to the drive gear 56.
When the deflection plate 95 is displaced in a direction away from the
The operating rod 140 of the torque sensor 100 as a rotational force detecting means described later operates according to the amount of deviation of the torque, and the torque sensor 100 outputs an electric output according to the pedaling force. The control device 300 is converted into a digital value by a D (analog / digital value) converter.
To be sent to

A start switch 15 is provided on the lid case 25 of the power unit C as shown in FIG.
The start switch 15 is provided with a key insertion hole 15a, and a key (not shown) is inserted into the key insertion hole 15a to perform a closing / opening operation.
4b supplies and stops electric power to the motor 40 and the like. When the start switch 15 is closed, the vehicle can travel easily with the assistance of the rotational force from the power unit C. When the start switch 15 is opened, the vehicle travels manually using only human power.

Next, the structure of the torque sensor 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, the torque sensor 100 includes a case main body 101 including a lower case 110 and an upper case 120 attached to the lower case 110, a strain gauge 130 as a sensor disposed in the case main body 101, Actuating rod 140 which receives the pedaling force of the detected torque, that is, the acting force of the rotational torque of crankshaft 80, and operating rod 140
And a coil spring 150 for transmitting the acting force received to the strain gauge 130.

The upper case 120 has a bottom wall 1.
21 is formed with a cylindrical portion 125 protruding inward and outward, respectively. The cylindrical portion 125 is formed with a guide hole 126 at a portion from the outer end portion to a substantially intermediate portion, and is formed from the intermediate portion to the inner side. Guide hole 1 at the end
A hole 127 larger in diameter than 26 is formed.

Then, the sensor, that is, the strain gauge 1
Reference numeral 30 denotes four thin-film resistors R1 formed on a surface of a strain body 131 made of, for example, aluminum through an insulating film.
To R4 (not shown in FIG. 5) by sticking or so-called semiconductor technology, and these four resistors R1 to R4 are connected by conductors to form a bridge W as shown in FIG. It is configured.
The connection point between the resistors R1 and R3 and the connection point between the resistors R4 and R2 of the bridge W are connected to the lead wire 132a.
And 132b are connected to a power supply, and the connection point between the resistors R1 and R4 and the connection point between the resistors R2 and R3 are output ends. A corresponding electrical output is output, and the electrical output is sent to the control device 200 via the lead wires 133a and 133b via an A / D converter (not shown).

The free end 131a of the flexure element 131 fixed to the lower case 110 and the upper case 120 with the fixed end sandwiched therebetween is located below the inner end of the cylindrical portion 125 and has a guide hole 126. A pin 134 having an axis coinciding with the axis of the guide hole 126 is attached to the distal end portion.

The operating rod 140 is connected to the guide hole 1.
A shaft 141 which is guided by 26 and slidably fits in the axial direction, and a large diameter formed at one end of the shaft 141 and rotatably fitted with a steel ball 142a to reduce friction. The coil spring 150 is disposed between the operating rod 140 and the pin 134 in a state where the coil spring 150 is compressed by a predetermined amount.

The operation of the torque sensor 100 is based on the same principle as that of a conventionally known torque sensor using a strain gauge. That is, the pedals 81a, 8
The pedaling force 2a is transmitted to the crankshaft 80, and a bending force corresponding to the amount of deflection of the deflection plate 95 that changes according to the magnitude of the rotational force of the crankshaft 80 is applied to the flexure element 131. The bridge W outputs an electrical output corresponding to a change in the resistance value of the resistors R1 to R4. In this embodiment, the maximum bending force is applied to the strain body 131 when the deflection plate 95 is not deflected.

As shown in FIG. 3, a speed sensor 160 as a vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the vehicle speed of the bicycle A is provided inside the case 20, and a known magnetic sensor is used as the speed sensor 160. And
A detection unit (not shown) of the speed sensor 160 is disposed close to the teeth of the drive gear 56, and is generated each time each tooth of the drive gear 56 approaches the detection unit by the rotation of the drive gear 56. The vehicle speed is detected based on the number of pulses per unit time of the pulse signal.

Next, the rear wheels 1 of the driving force of the motor 40 will be described.
2 will be described.

The pedals 81a and 82a are adapted to accelerate the bicycle A as in the case of running uphill or the like in manual running.
When the pedal is depressed, the pedaling force of the pedals 81a and 82a increases as described above and exceeds a predetermined value, and the driving plate 90 rotates in advance with respect to the driving gear 56, and the relative movement of the two in accordance with the pedaling force is made. As a result, the leading end of the slide shaft 96 of the deflection plate 95 becomes a protrusion 57 provided on the drive gear 56.
Is moved upward, and the deflection plate 95 is displaced in a direction away from the drive gear 56 by a deviation amount corresponding to the magnitude of the treading force. As a result, the maximum bending force applied to the flexure element 131 via the operating rod 140 and the coil spring 150 decreases, and the flexure element 131 is restored. With this restoration, the resistance values of the resistors R1 to R4 of the bridge W are restored. Is changed, and an electrical output corresponding to the change is sent to the control device 200. Then, the motor 40 is driven by the control device 200 as described later, and the power of the motor 40 is
1 is transmitted to the drive gear 56 via the speed reduction mechanism 50, transmitted to the hollow shaft 70 via the drive gear 56, and the sprocket 17 and the chain attached to the hollow shaft 70. Rear wheel 1 through 18
2 is transmitted. That is, the pedals 81a, 82
By stepping on "a", the rotational force of the motor 40, that is, the power is added or assisted to the rotational force of the human power transmitted to the crankshaft 80, and the bicycle runs.

Next, the bicycle A according to this embodiment will be described.
The control for assisting the power according to the pedaling force of the vehicle will be described with reference to a control block diagram shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, the control device 200 includes a storage means 210 including a memory, a calculation means 220 for calculating a moving average value, and a sample table 23 including a memory.
0, a motor control circuit 240 and control means (not shown) are provided. The storage means 210 has a plurality of storage areas 211 (1) to 211 (n), and is connected to the torque sensor 100 via an A / D converter (not shown) as described above. The pedal effort detected by the torque sensor 100 at predetermined intervals within this cycle at a constant cycle is stored or stored sequentially from the storage area 211 (1) to 211 (n). This storage is performed by reading / writing means (not shown) controlled by the control means (not shown).

The storage means 210 is connected to a calculating means 220 for calculating a moving average value of the pedaling force. The calculating means 220 is connected to a speed sensor 160, which is detected by the speed sensor 160. The vehicle speed is sequentially sent to the calculating means 220. Further, a sample table 230 is connected to the calculating means 220, and the sample table 230 is used to determine the number of samples for calculating the moving average value of the pedaling force in accordance with each predetermined vehicle speed. The number of determined samples is stored or set. Although not shown, the calculating means 220 includes a tread force reading means for reading the tread force from the storage means 210 and a sample reading means for reading the number of determined samples from the sample table 230.

Then, the calculating means 220 reads out the sample determination number corresponding to the vehicle speed outputted from the speed sensor 160 to the sample table 230, and stores each of the storage areas 221 (1) to 211 (n) of the storage means 210.
Among the treading forces stored in the storage means 210, that is, the storage areas 221 (1) to 211 (n) of the storage means 210.
From the most recent treading force stored in, the retrospective treading force is read out by the number of the sample determinations read out, and the total value of these treading forces is divided by the number of sampled determinations to calculate a moving average value corresponding to the vehicle speed. Things. The calculating means 22
0 is connected to a motor control circuit 240, and
The battery 14b and the motor 40 are connected to the motor control circuit 240. The motor control circuit 240 controls the current supplied from the battery 14b based on the moving average value of the pedaling force calculated by the calculating means 220 to control the output of the motor 40, that is, the rotational force.

Next, control for assisting the power of the motor 40, that is, the rotational force in accordance with the pedaling force will be described.

First, when the bicycle A is depressed and the pedals 81a and 82a are depressed to start traveling, the pedal 8
The pedaling forces 1a and 82a are transmitted to the crankshaft 80, and the torque of the crankshaft 80 is detected by the torque sensor 100, and the output of the torque sensor 100 is read at regular intervals and at regular time intervals within this cycle. Thus, each of the storage areas 211 (1) to 211 (2) of the storage means 210
11 (n).

When the vehicle starts running, the vehicle speed is detected by the speed sensor 160, and the vehicle speed is sent to the calculating means 220. The calculating means 220 stores the determined number of samples set in correspondence with the vehicle speed in a sample table. Read from 230, read the number of samples retroactively from the storage means 210 by the number of determined samples from the latest pedaling force,
This total value is divided by the number of samples to calculate a moving average value, which is sent to the motor control circuit 240. The motor control circuit 240 drives the motor 40 by supplying a current from the battery 14b to the motor 40 so as to output, that is, assist, power corresponding to the moving average value based on the moving average value.

That is, the pedals 81a which fluctuate during running are
The pedaling force applied to 82a is sequentially stored in the storage unit 210, while the vehicle speed is detected by the torque sensor 100, and the pedaling force is read out from the storage unit 210 by the number of samples determined according to the vehicle speed. The moving average value is calculated, and the output of the motor 40 is controlled so as to assist the power according to the calculated moving average value.

At the start of running, that is, at the time of starting, the number of samples for calculating the moving average value is set large because the vehicle speed is low, so that the transition of the moving average value of the pedaling force is smoothed, so that the auxiliary power is also smoothed. The driver does not feel the above-mentioned uncomfortable feeling when depressing the pedal, and when the vehicle speed is high, the number of samples is set small, so that the transition of the moving average value of the pedaling force and The phase difference from the transition of the pedaling force becomes small, and the response to the depression is good, so that the feeling of power is not impaired.

FIG. 8 shows the relationship between the pedal effort and the moving average value when the number of samples is changed by the above control. FIG. 8 shows that the state in which the pedal speed is linearly accelerated by depressing the pedal and the pedal force changes at this time, that is, the change, and the change in the pedal force detected by the torque detecting means are read at predetermined time intervals. It is the graph which showed the state which changes the moving average value of the treading force read every time, ie, transition. In the graph, a curve D shown by a solid line shows a change in pedal effort, curves E1 and E2 shown by a broken line show changes in a moving average value, and a curve E1 shows five samples. The curve E2 is a case where the number of samples is three. That is, the number of samples is five during the time T1 from the start of traveling, and the time T2 after the time T1 shows the transition of the moving average value when the number of samples is three. In addition,
The symbol K in FIG. 8 indicates the acceleration state of the bicycle A and accelerates linearly. Therefore, it is theoretically a straight line, but actually the state is as shown in the figure.

As can be seen from the graph of FIG. 8, the pedal depression force at the start of traveling, that is, the curve D, which lacks smoothness at the first rising portion M, shows a moving average value.
1 rising portion m corresponding to the rising portion M
Are linear, that is, smoothed. Further, as can be seen from the broken line E2 in which the number of samples is set to three when the vehicle speed increases and the time T1 has elapsed, the phase difference from the solid line D indicating the pedal effort is smaller than that in the case of five samples. This indicates that the response of the power supply to the depression is improved. Also, the crest value is 3 samples,
This is almost the same as the case of five samples, and shows that the pedal does not become heavy.

As can be seen by comparing this with the curve C shown in FIG. 11 in which the number of samples is fixed, for example, 5 regardless of the vehicle speed, the curve C of the moving average value in which the number of samples is fixed to 5 is seen. As the vehicle speed increases, the phase difference with the curve A of the pedaling force increases, and the peak value also decreases, but the vehicle speed increases as shown by the curve E2 in FIG. When the number of samples is reduced, the phase difference of the moving average value with respect to the pedaling force can be reduced, and the fall of the peak value can be prevented.

Thus, when the vehicle speed is low, the auxiliary power supplied with respect to the pedal depression force can be smoothed, and when the vehicle speed is high, the response of the auxiliary power supply to the pedal depression can be improved. As a result, good ride quality can be obtained.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment corresponds to the invention according to claim 3, wherein the ratio between the phase difference between the transition of the pedal effort and the transition of the moving average value of the pedal effort and the cycle of the transition of the pedal effort is independent of the vehicle speed. The number of samples is made variable so as to be substantially constant.

FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the phase difference between the transition of the pedaling force and the transition of the moving average value in this case, and the cycle of the transition of the pedaling force. In the graph shown in FIG. 9, the pedal is depressed and the vehicle speed is accelerated substantially linearly as shown by a curve K. At this time, the changing state, that is, the change of the pedaling force, and the pedaling force detected by the torque detecting means. The pedaling force is read every predetermined time, and the number of samples for calculating the moving average value of the pedaling force read every time is decreased as the vehicle speed increases, and the transition of this moving average value and the transition of the pedaling force of the pedal are calculated. 5 is a graph showing a state in which a moving average value changes when the ratio between the phase difference of the stepping force and the period of the transition of the pedaling force is made substantially constant regardless of the vehicle speed. In the graph, a curve F indicated by a solid line indicates a transition of the pedal effort, and curves G1, G2 and G3 indicated by broken lines indicate a transition of the moving average value. That is, during the time T1 from the start of traveling, the number of samples is set to 5 and the time T1
, The number of samples is set to three during the time T2, and similarly, at the time T3 after the time T2 elapses, the transition of the moving average value calculated by setting the number of samples to two is shown.

As can be seen from the graph of FIG. 9, the pedaling force at the start of traveling, that is, the first rising portion M of the curve F lacks smoothness, but corresponds to the rising portion M of the moving average value G1. The rising portion m is linear, that is, smoothed. Further, as can be seen from the curve G2 having three samples at the time T2 when the vehicle speed gradually increases after the passage of T1 from the start of traveling, the phase difference from the solid line F indicating the pedaling force is A broken line G3 in which the number of samples is two when the vehicle speed reaches a time T3 when the vehicle speed further increases is smaller than the case of five samples.
As can be seen from the figure, the phase difference from the curve F indicating the pedaling force is even smaller than in the case of five samples.

That is, when the vehicle speed gradually increases by depressing the pedal as time elapses from the start of traveling, as shown in FIG. 9, the cycle W of the curve F indicating the transition of the pedaling force gradually decreases, while the vehicle speed increases. As the number of samples decreases, the phase difference w between the curve F and each of the curves G1 to G3 also decreases. Therefore, the ratio of the period W of the curve F indicating the transition of the pedaling force to the phase difference w is: It is almost constant. In other words, the ratio of the phase difference w between the cycle W of the curve F indicating the transition of the pedal effort and the cycle of the moving average value whose phase lags behind the transition of the pedal effort is made substantially constant irrespective of the vehicle speed. The number of samples decreases as the vehicle speed increases.

As a result, even when the vehicle speed increases, the responsiveness of the power supply to the depression can be improved. Further, the peak value is substantially the same and does not greatly change regardless of the number of samples, and indicates that the pedal does not become heavy.

The control configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the control block diagram is the same as the control block diagram shown in FIG. Note that the sample table 230 is sampled so that the ratio between the phase difference between the transition of the pedal effort and the transition of the moving average value of the pedal effort and the cycle of the pedal effort is substantially constant regardless of the vehicle speed, as described above. The number is determined by experiment or the like, and the determined number of samples is set in correspondence with the vehicle speed. As a result, based on the number of determined samples according to the vehicle speed during traveling, the calculating means 220 calculates a moving average value from the storage means 210 by using the number of sampled pedaling forces as the number of samples, and calculates the moving average value as the moving average value. Based on this, the motor control circuit 240 controls the motor 40 to assist power.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment corresponds to the invention described in claim 4. When the magnitude of the vehicle speed is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the motor is controlled based on the moving average value of the pedaling force to assist the power, and the magnitude of the vehicle speed is increased. Is greater than a predetermined value, the motor is controlled based on the pedaling force (the pedaling force) to assist the power. Note that this embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except for the vehicle speed determination unit 250, the switching unit 260, and the temporary storage unit 270 in the control block diagram shown in FIG. The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

As shown in the control block diagram of FIG. 10, the speed sensor 160 is connected to a vehicle speed judging means 250.
The magnitude of the vehicle speed detected by 60 is compared with a predetermined reference value, that is, a predetermined value, and it is determined whether the vehicle speed is equal to or less than the predetermined value. This vehicle speed determining means 250
Is connected to a switching means 260.
60 is connected to the storage means 210 via the temporary storage means 270 and to the calculation means 220.
The switching means 260 is connected to the motor control circuit 240. The temporary storage unit 270 temporarily stores the treading force detected by the torque sensor 100 and stored in the storage unit 210 at the same time, and is updated every time the treading force is read into the storage unit 210.

When the magnitude of the vehicle speed output from the vehicle speed determining means 250 is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the switching means 260 outputs the moving average value calculated by the calculating means 220 to the motor control circuit 240. Calculation means 22
0 is connected to the motor control circuit 240, and when the predetermined value is exceeded, the pedaling force stored in the temporary storage unit 270 is output to the motor control circuit 240 so that the temporary storage unit 27 is output.
0 functions to connect to the motor control circuit 240. As a result, the pedaling force read from the storage unit 210, that is, the torque sensor 100 via the temporary storage unit 270 is stored in the motor control circuit 240 via the temporary storage unit 270.
60 directly.

Next, the motor 4 according to this embodiment will be described.
Control for assisting power from 0 will be described.

First, when the bicycle A is stopped, the pedal 81 is turned off.
When the a and 82a are depressed to start running, the treading force at this time is detected by the torque sensor 100 and is sequentially read into the storage means 210 at predetermined time intervals, and the sequentially read treading force is simultaneously updated sequentially. It is stored in the temporary storage means 270. On the other hand, the vehicle speed at this time is detected by the speed sensor 160, and the detection result is sent to the vehicle speed determining means 250 to determine whether the vehicle speed is equal to or less than a predetermined value. In this case, since the vehicle has just started running, the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the predetermined value, and the switching means 260 operates to connect the calculating means 220 to the motor control circuit 240. The calculating means 220 is provided by the speed sensor 16.
The sample determination number corresponding to the vehicle speed detected at 0 is called out from the sample table 230, the number of samples corresponding to the sample determination number is called by the storage means 210, and the moving average is calculated by calling the treading force. The power is sent to the motor control circuit 240, and the motor control circuit 240 controls the motor 40 so as to output, that is, assist the power corresponding to the moving average value.

Next, when the vehicle speed is gradually accelerated from the start of traveling and the vehicle speed detected by the speed sensor 160 exceeds a predetermined value, the vehicle speed determining means 260 determines that the vehicle speed has exceeded the predetermined value, and the switching means 260 calculates And the temporary storage means 270 is connected to the motor control circuit 240. As a result, the treading force read from the torque sensor 100 to the storage means 210 and simultaneously stored in the temporary storage means are sent to the motor control circuit 240, and the motor control circuit 240 outputs or assists the power corresponding to the treading force. Motor 4
Control 0. In other words, when the vehicle is running in a state where the vehicle speed exceeds the predetermined value, the power corresponding to the depression force at the time of depressing the pedals 81a and 82a is assisted, and the responsiveness of the power assist to the depression is good, so that the driving is performed with a feeling of power. Things.

In each of the above embodiments, the calculating means 220 uses the sample table 23 to simplify the description.
The number of determined samples and the treading force of the storage means 210 are called out, but this is done by the intervention of control means comprising a microcomputer. Similarly, the moving average value and the treading force output from the calculation means 220 and the temporary storage means 270 are directly used for the motor control circuit 2.
The motor control circuit 240 controls the motor 40. However, this is performed by the control means based on the moving average value and the pedaling force. In addition, the switching means 270 and the like which operate according to the output of the vehicle speed judging means 260 are also performed by the control means.

[0067]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the first and second aspects of the present invention provide a large number of samples when the vehicle speed is high. The moving average of the pedaling force is calculated based on the moving average, and the power is assisted based on the moving average, so that the assisted power is smoothed, so that a smooth ride can be obtained, and the vehicle speed is increased. When the value becomes larger, the moving average value of the pedaling force is calculated based on the small number of samples, and the power is assisted based on this moving average value. This has the effect of improving the performance and reducing the decrease in the peak value, thereby preventing the pedal from becoming heavy.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the ratio of the cycle of the transition of the depression value to the phase difference between the transition of the depression force of the pedal and the transition of the moving average value of the depression force is substantially constant irrespective of the vehicle speed. In addition to the effect of the second aspect of the invention, the responsiveness of the auxiliary power supplied in response to the depression during traveling can be made substantially constant regardless of the vehicle speed.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 has the same function as the invention according to claim 2 when the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, and when the vehicle speed exceeds the predetermined value, the moving average of the pedaling force. Since it assists the power according to the pedaling force without calculating the value, there is an effect that the responsiveness of supplying the auxiliary power corresponding to the pedaling force during high-speed running can be further improved. It is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of an embodiment of a bicycle with an auxiliary power device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a configuration of the auxiliary power unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the auxiliary power unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial view showing the relationship between the depression force of the pedal and the operation of the torque detecting means in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the torque detecting means (torque sensor) of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a torque detecting means (torque sensor) of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a control block diagram of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the pedaling force and the moving average value of the pedaling force according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing a relationship between a treading force and a moving average value of the treading force according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a control block diagram according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the moving average value and the pedaling force when the moving average of the pedaling force is calculated with a fixed number of samples.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Bicycle with auxiliary power unit. B vehicle body C auxiliary power unit 80 crankshaft 81a, 82a pedal 100 torque sensor (torque detecting unit) 160 speed sensor (vehicle speed detecting unit) 200 control unit 210 storage unit 220 calculating unit 230 sample table 240 motor drive circuit 250 vehicle speed determining unit 260 Temporary storage unit 270 Switching unit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A stepping force of a pedal is detected a predetermined number of times within a predetermined period of time, each detected stepping force is stored in a storage means, and a predetermined number of samples are taken out of the stored stepping force by a calculating means, and a moving average of the stepping force is obtained. In the bicycle with the electric assist power device that assists the power corresponding to the treading force by controlling the output of the motor based on the moving average value, the vehicle speed of the bicycle is detected by the vehicle speed detecting means, and the moving average value is calculated. A bicycle with an electric assistive power unit, wherein the number of samples for calculating is smaller when the vehicle speed is high than when the vehicle speed is low. 2. A detecting means for detecting a pedaling force value of a pedal, and a storage means for reading a pedaling force value fluctuating during the detection by the detecting means at a constant period and at a predetermined time interval within the period, and storing these pedaling force values, respectively. A vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a vehicle speed, a motor for supplying auxiliary power by supplying power from a power supply, and a large number of sample determinations for a low vehicle speed and a small number of sample determinations for a high vehicle speed. Based on the set sample table and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means, the number of determined sample numbers corresponding to the vehicle speed read from the sample table is read from the storage means retroactively from the latest pedaling force value by the number of determined samples. Calculating means for calculating a moving average value from the sum of the applied pedaling force values, and a motor control circuit for driving the motor based on the result of the calculating means. Power electric auxiliary power unit bicycles, characterized in that to assist the power by controlling the output of the motor based on the moving average of the. 3. The invention according to claim 2, wherein the determined number of samples set in the sample table is a ratio of a period of the transition of the pedal force value to a phase difference between the transition of the pedal force value and the transition of the moving averaged pedal force value. The bicycle with the electric auxiliary power unit is set so as to be substantially constant regardless of the vehicle speed. 4. A detecting means for detecting a pedaling force value of a pedal, and a storage means for reading a pedaling force value fluctuating during detection by the detecting means at a constant period and at a predetermined time interval within the cycle, and storing these pedaling force values, respectively. A vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a vehicle speed, a motor for supplying auxiliary power by supplying power from a power supply, and a moving average value based on a sum of tread force values read from the storage means retroactively from the latest tread force value. Calculating means for calculating a vehicle speed, a vehicle speed determining means for determining whether the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means has exceeded a predetermined value, and a motor control circuit for driving the motor, wherein the vehicle speed is equal to or less than a predetermined value. When the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined value based on a moving average value of the pedaling force value, an output of a motor is controlled based on the pedaling force value detected by the detecting means to assist power. Bicycle with auxiliary power unit.