JP3490901B2 - Electric bicycle - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric bicycle provided with an electric motor for assisting human running by pedaling force, and more specifically, a structure for mounting a battery case accommodating a battery for supplying electric power to the electric motor. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electric bicycle, an electric motor is attached to a drive system of rear wheels which are traveling wheels, and the rotational force of the electric motor is transmitted to a rear wheel hub via an appropriate transmission device such as a belt or a gear. In addition, the original running of the bicycle, which is performed by the pedaling force of the pedal, is configured to be assisted by the rotating force of the electric motor, which reduces the human load on the user at the time of starting, running on a slope, etc., and enables a light running. In recent years, it has become the center of attention for making it possible.

In this kind of electric bicycle, a rechargeable battery for supplying electric power to the electric motor is mounted. Since this battery is a bulky and heavy item,
In order to maintain the balance of the vehicle body without hindering the driving operation, it is housed in a long case made of synthetic resin or the like and attached to a part of the vehicle body frame. Further, in many electric bicycles, the battery case is made detachable, and the battery housed in the battery case can be charged by removing it from the vehicle body frame to improve usability.

Various battery case mounting structures have been proposed in the past, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-268362 (B62J 11/00, B62M 23/02) filed by the applicant of the present invention discloses:
A mounting structure having a simple structure has been proposed.

In this mounting structure, a flat plate-like holding plate is fixed along a part of a frame pipe constituting a vehicle body frame, and the holding plate is directed to the same side at a plurality of positions in the plane. While a locking claw that bends in a hook shape is provided in a protruding manner, a mounting plate is integrally provided on one surface of the battery case facing the holding plate, and the locking claw can be received at a position corresponding to the mounting plate. A plurality of engaging holes are formed, the mounting plate of the battery case is opposed to the holding plate on the body frame side, the latter locking claws are fitted in the former engaging holes, and then the battery is attached along the holding plate. The case is moved in the direction opposite to the direction of the locking claws, and the hooks of these locking claws are engaged with the peripheral edges of the engagement holes to obtain a fixed state.

Further, by using a manually rotatable screw member, one end of the battery case is screwed to the corresponding end of the holding plate to restrain the movement of both and engage with the locking claw. By maintaining the engaged state with the hole, the disengagement of the fixing due to the vibration during traveling is prevented. The attachment of the battery case is completed after the fixing operation described above, by connecting a power supply cord for supplying power to the electric motor for assisting traveling to a power supply terminal provided on one side of the battery case.

To remove the battery case, first, remove the power supply cord, loosen and remove the screw member, and move the battery case along the holding plate in the opposite direction to that at the time of attachment, and then the locking claw and the engaging hole. It is achieved by releasing the battery case to the front, that is, in the direction away from the holding plate after releasing the engagement with.

[0008]

As described above, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-
The battery case mounting structure disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 268362 makes it possible to attach and detach the battery case with a simple configuration. However, in mounting the battery case, as described above, the battery case fixing operation and There is a need to perform a two-step operation of connecting the power supply cord and a two-step operation of removing the power supply cord and releasing the fixing of the battery case when removing the battery case. there were.

Further, since the connecting portion between the battery case and the power supply cord is exposed to the outside, there is a problem that inconvenience such as damage and disconnection due to the action of various external forces cannot be avoided.

Further, at the time of mounting the battery case, it is necessary to align the engaging hole with the engaging claw, and it is difficult to see from the outside. The mounting plate on the battery case side and the holding plate on the body frame side face each other. There has been a problem that this alignment performed in the department is troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the battery case can be easily attached / detached together with the attachment / detachment of the power supply cord, and the connection portion of the power supply cord is not damaged or disconnected. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric bicycle that can prevent the generation.

[0012]

In an electric bicycle according to the present invention, a battery case accommodating a battery is detachably attached along a surface of the battery case to a holding plate fixed to a part of a vehicle body frame. In an electric bicycle that is mounted and drives an electric motor by power feeding from a power feeding terminal provided on one side of the battery case to assist traveling by human power, the holding plate is fixed along the body frame. A support plate, and a terminal plate formed by bending one side of the support plate in an L shape and standing up in a direction away from the vehicle body frame. An output terminal that engages with the power supply terminal is arranged on the terminal plate. It is characterized by being installed.

In the present invention, as the holding plate of the battery case, a plate member whose middle portion is bent in an L shape is used, one side of the plate member is used as a support plate along the body frame, and the other side is separated from the body frame. When the output terminal is arranged on this terminal plate and is attached to the support plate along one surface of the battery case,
The output terminal provided on the terminal plate facing one side of the battery case engages with the power supply terminal of the battery case, and the connection between the power supply cord connected to the output terminal and the battery case is the mounting of the battery case. It is performed at the same time as the operation.

In addition, it is characterized by further comprising an exterior cover having an opening capable of receiving one side of the battery case and covering the outside of the terminal plate.

In the present invention, the outer side of the terminal plate having the output terminal is covered with the outer cover to protect the connection portion of the battery case with the power supply terminal from being inaccessible from the outside.
Prevent damage to the connection and disconnection. Also, the opening provided in the exterior cover is
This is used as a standard for positioning performed at a portion facing the support plate, which is difficult to see, and the troublesomeness of this positioning is alleviated.

Further, the battery case and the support plate are mounted such that a plurality of engaging claws provided on one side are engaged with respective different engaging holes formed on the other side. Each of the battery cases is characterized by being screwed to a part of the support plate.

In the present invention, the support plate and the battery case can be attached / detached with a simple structure by engaging the engagement claw and the engagement hole, and the battery case can be used as a part of the support plate. The movement of both is restrained by screwing, the engagement state of the locking claw and the engagement hole is maintained, the disengagement due to vibration during traveling is prevented, and the fixed state is reliably maintained.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments thereof. FIG. 1 is a side view showing the overall configuration of an electric bicycle according to the present invention. This electric bicycle includes a body frame 1 whose front and rear are supported by front wheels 2 and rear wheels 3. The body frame 1 includes a standing pipe 10 that supports a seating saddle 4 on an upper portion thereof and pedals 5 and 5 (only one side is shown) for manpower traveling on a lower portion thereof, and a head pipe 11 that supports the front wheels 2. The main pipes 12 are connected to each other.

The front wheel 2 is attached to the lower end portion of a support fork 40 which is inserted and supported by the head pipe 11 so as to be rotatable about its axis. A steering handlebar 41 in the form of a rod is fixed to the upper end portion of a support fork 40 extending above the head pipe 11 so as to be substantially orthogonal thereto.
The front fork 2 is steered by changing the direction of the support fork 40 by operating 41.

The rear wheel 3 is projected from the rear side of the standing pipe 10 and is supported from both sides in the vehicle width direction by a back fork 14 and a chain stay 15 which are framed in a triangular shape together with the standing pipe 10. . A hub plate 30 is fixed to the rear ends of the back fork 14 and the chain stay 15 coaxially with the rear wheel 3, and an electric motor M for assisting traveling is attached to the hub plate 30. It is connected to the hub axle of the rear wheel 3 via transmission means (not shown) such as a belt and gear built in the plate 30.

A rear gear (not shown) is attached to the end of the hub axle of the rear wheel 3 which is provided on the side opposite to the side shown in the figure.
On the other hand, a front gear 50 which is paired with the rear gear is rotatably supported at the lower end of the standing pipe 10, and a chain C is stretched between the front gear 50 and the rear gear. . Front gear 50 protruding on both sides in the vehicle width direction
The pedals 5 and 5 (only one side is shown) are attached to both ends of the rotary shaft through the respective cranks having a phase difference of 180 °.

With the above structure, the front gear 50 is
It is rotated by the pedaling force of the pedals 5 and 5 by the user seated on the saddle 4, and this rotation is transmitted to the rear wheel 3 via the chain C and the rear gear, and the rear wheel 3 rotates to perform human power travel. On the other hand, when the electric motor M is driven, this rotational force is transmitted to the rear wheel 3 via the transmission mechanism built in the hub plate 30 to assist the manual traveling performed as described above.

The rotational torque applied to the rear wheel 3 by the pedaling force of the pedals 5, 5 is detected by a torque sensor (not shown) built in the hub plate 30, and when the torque detected by the torque sensor exceeds a predetermined level, That is, the electric motor M is driven when the pedaling force of the pedals 5, 5 by the user exceeds a predetermined level. As a result, the electric motor M is driven in a traveling state in which a great pedaling force is applied to the pedals 5, 5 such as when traveling on an uphill or at the time of starting, so that traveling by human power is assisted, and light traveling is enabled.

The feature of the electric bicycle according to the present invention resides in the mounting structure of the battery case 6 for supplying power to the electric motor M driven as described above. This battery case 6
Is attached to the front surface of the vertical pipe 10 along the same as shown. A power supply cord is provided below the battery case 6.
16 is pulled out, and this feeding cord 16 is the vertical pipe 10
Also, it is extended rearward along the chain stay 15 on one side, guided to the inside of a hub plate 30 attached to the rear wheel 3, and connected to an electric motor M for assisting traveling via a drive circuit (not shown). The electric motor M is driven by power supplied from a battery B (see FIG. 2) housed inside the battery case 6.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the vicinity of the mounting position of the battery case 6. The battery case 6 is a hollow container made of synthetic resin in which the rechargeable battery B is housed, and the outer surface of the bottom plate 60 supporting the battery B is
A metal mounting plate 7 is fixed by screws so as to follow this.

On the other hand, a holding plate 8 made of metal is fixed by screws to the front surface of the standing pipe 10 which is a mounting portion of the battery case 6 along the same. As shown in the drawing, the holding plate 8 is formed by bending a flat plate-shaped support plate 8a extending along the front surface of the standing pipe 10 and a lower edge side of the supporting plate 80 at a substantially right angle over an appropriate length to form a standing pipe. 10 and a terminal plate 81 that rises in a direction away from the front surface, and has an L-shaped cross-sectional shape in a side view.

On the support plate 80, locking claws 8a, 8a bent upward in a hook shape are formed at two positions separated by an appropriate length in the longitudinal direction.
Is projected. Further, the mounting plate 7 fixed to the battery case 6 has a size capable of receiving the locking claws 8a, 8a at positions corresponding to the protruding positions of the locking claws 8a, 8a on the support plate 80. The engaging holes 7a, 7a are formed therethrough.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the battery case 6 is attached or detached. As shown in the figure, in the battery case 6, the fixing surface of the mounting plate 7 faces the support plate 80 fixed to the front surface of the vertical pipe 10, and
By engaging the locking claws 8a, 8a projecting on the 80 into the respective engaging holes 7a, 7a formed in the mounting plate 7, and moving the battery case 8 downward in this state, the locking claws 8a ，
The hook portion of 8a is adapted to be attached by engaging with the upper edge portion of each of the different engaging holes 7a, 7a.

In this attached state, the battery case 6
As shown in FIG. 2, the upper part of the cover is covered so as to cover the upper edge of the support plate 80, and a fixing screw 61 that can be manually rotated by operating the knob of the tip is provided on this part. It is installed. Also, near the upper edge of the support plate 80,
A screw hole 82 capable of being screwed into the fixing screw 61 is provided, and the battery case 6 is provided with the fixing screw after the engagement state between the mounting plate 7 and the support plate 80 is obtained. It is fixed by rotating 61 and screwing it into the screw hole 82. By this fixing, the engagement between the locking claws 8a and 8a and the engaging holes 7a and 7a is maintained without being affected by the vibration during traveling, and there is no fear that the battery case 6 may come off.

The terminal plate 81 connected to the lower part of the support plate 80 is
It is provided so as to face the lower surface of the battery case 6 attached as described above. The outside of the terminal plate 81 is covered with a resin outer cover 9 having an opening 9a (see FIG. 3) capable of receiving the lower portion of the battery case 6 on the entire upper surface thereof, and the battery case 6 is mounted as described above. At this time, by aligning the lower part of the battery case 6 with the opening 9a of the exterior cover 9, as shown in FIG. 3, the locking claws 8a, 8a and the engagement holes 7a, 7a face each other at a position where they can be fitted. Can be made.

That is, the fitting of the locking claws 8a, 8a and the engagement holes 7a, 7a at a position hidden behind the battery case 6 causes the battery case 6 to be opened at the opening 9a of the exterior cover 9.
Can be easily achieved by positioning with
The battery case 6 can be easily attached. The lower portion of the attached battery case 6 is in a state of being inserted into the exterior cover 9 for an appropriate length as shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the interior of the outer cover 9 taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. As shown in this figure and FIG. 3, the terminal plate 81 covered by the exterior cover 9 is provided with a pair of rod-shaped output terminals 83, 83 projecting upward at a predetermined position on the surface thereof. These are connected to the power supply cord 16 at the lower part of the terminal board 81. On the other hand, on the lower surface of the battery case 6 facing the terminal plate 81 at the time of mounting, through holes are provided at the corresponding positions of these output terminals 83, 83.
62, 62 (only one side is shown) are formed.

Inside the battery case 6, power supply terminals 63, 63 (only one side is shown in FIG. 2) are provided at positions facing these through holes 62, 62 by being biased downward by springs, When the battery case 6 is attached as described above,
The output terminals 83, 83 enter the battery case 6 through the through holes 62, 62, respectively, and as shown in FIG. 2, are elastically contacted with the corresponding power supply terminals 63, 63 to be conductively connected. It is done like this.

By this connection, the battery B inside the battery case 6 is connected to the power supply cord 16 via the power supply terminals 62, 62 and the output terminals 83, 83, and as described above, the electric power is supplied to the electric motor M. Since such a connection state is automatically realized by attaching the battery case 6 to the holding plate 8, the connection work after the attachment is not required as in the conventional case, and the attachment work is greatly simplified. The connection as described above occurs inside the outer cover 9 that covers the outside of the terminal plate 81, and since this connection portion is protected by the outer cover 9 from being contacted from the outside, the connection portion due to the action of external force It is possible to prevent damage and disconnection from occurring.

Battery case 6 mounted as described above
For removal, first, the fixing screw 61 is loosened to release the fixing of the upper portion of the battery case 6, and then the battery case 6 is pulled upward to engage the engaging holes 7a, 7a of the mounting plate 7 and the locking claws of the support plate 80. The battery case 6 is released by releasing the engagement with 8a, 8a.
It is achieved by pulling up the front. At this time, the connection between the output terminals 83, 83 and the power supply terminals 63, 63 is also released at the same time, so that the labor required for removal can be reduced.

In the above embodiments, the case where the battery case 6 is attached to the front portion of the standpipe 10 has been described. However, the attachment position of the battery case 6 may be set to an appropriate position of the vehicle body frame 1. it can. Figure 5
It is a side view which shows other embodiment of the electric bicycle which concerns on this invention, and the battery case 6 is the standing pipe 10 in this figure.
It is attached to the upper surface of the main pipe 12 that connects the head pipe 11 with the head pipe 11.

[0037]

As described above in detail, in the electric bicycle according to the present invention, the holding plate of the battery case is formed by the L-shaped plate member including the support plate along the vehicle body frame and the terminal plate rising in the direction away from the vehicle body frame. Since the output terminal is arranged on the terminal plate, the output terminal is engaged with the power supply terminal provided on one side of the battery case when the battery case is attached to the support plate along one surface of the battery case to supply the power. Since the connection between the cord and the battery case is performed at the same time as the battery case is installed, the installation work is greatly simplified and a reliable and easily installed state can be obtained.

Further, since the outer side of the terminal plate is covered with the exterior cover having an opening capable of receiving one side of the battery case, the connection portion between the power supply terminal and the output terminal of the battery case is protected from being inaccessible from the outside. , Connection damage,
The occurrence of disconnection can be prevented in advance, and the opening provided in the outer cover can be used for positioning when attaching the battery case. This is performed at the facing portion between the support plate and the battery case, which are difficult to see. It is possible to reduce the troublesomeness of positioning.

The battery case and the supporting plate are attached by engaging a plurality of engaging claws projecting on one side with respective engaging holes formed on the other side and further mounting the battery case on the supporting plate. Since the support plate and the battery case can be attached and detached with a simple structure because it is fixed to a part of the screw with a simple structure, it is possible to prevent the disengagement of the support plate due to vibration etc. during traveling and to maintain the fixed state securely. The present invention has excellent effects such as the above.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the overall configuration of an electric bicycle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view near a mounting position of a battery case.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the battery case is attached or detached.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the inside of the exterior cover taken along the line IV-IV of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing another embodiment of the electric bicycle according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 body frame 2 front wheels 3 rear wheels 4 saddle 5 pedals 6 battery case 7 Mounting plate 8 holding plate 10 vertical pipes 11 head pipe 12 Main pipe 16 power cord 63 Power supply terminal 80 support plate 81 Terminal board 83 Output terminal B battery M electric motor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B62J 11/00 B62M 23/02

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A power supply provided on one side of a battery case in which a battery is housed is detachably attached to a holding plate fixed to a part of a vehicle body frame along one surface of the battery case. In an electric bicycle configured to drive an electric motor by power supply from a terminal to assist traveling by human power, the holding plate includes a support plate fixed along the body frame and one side of the support plate. A terminal plate bent in an L-shape and rising in a direction away from the vehicle body frame, the terminal plate being provided with an output terminal that engages with the power supply terminal ;
The terminal board having an opening capable of receiving one side of the terminal
An electric bicycle comprising an exterior cover that covers the outside of the electric bicycle. Wherein said battery case and the supporting plate, a plurality of engaging claws which project in one claim 1 Symbol which is attached by engaging with each other engaging hole formed in the other The electric bicycle listed. 3. The electric bicycle according to claim 2 , wherein the battery case is screwed to a part of the support plate.