JP7612302B2 - Assembly including bicycle battery and battery holder, bicycle and battery holder equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an assembly (hereinafter simply referred to as the "assembly") that includes a bicycle battery and a battery holder, and a bicycle and battery holder that are equipped with the assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to an assembly (hereinafter simply referred to as the "assembly") that includes a bicycle battery and a battery holder, which enables improvements to be made to hollow members such as seat posts to improve aerodynamic performance and reduce the weight of the bicycle, while also providing sufficient fixing force, and a bicycle and battery holder that are equipped with the assembly.

Bicycles equipped with batteries that supply power to electrical components such as the bicycle's electric transmission are well known, and small batteries that can be stored in the seat tube or seat post have been proposed so as not to spoil the aesthetic look of the bicycle. A conventional method for attaching a small battery to be stored in the seat tube or seat post is to attach an elastic member such as rubber to the outer periphery of a rod-shaped small battery, and secure the battery inside the seat post by the friction between the inside of the seat post and the elastic member. This elastic member can be a pair of ring-shaped members that are placed above and below the rod-shaped battery, or a cylindrical type that covers the entire battery. In addition to these, various other technologies have been proposed for storing small batteries in the seat tube or seat post.

For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a holder equipped with a restricting portion and a holding portion that is inserted into the seat tube so as not to spoil the aesthetic look of the bicycle. The restricting portion contacts the opening of the seat tube so as to restrict movement of the holder in the axial direction of the seat tube and in the direction in which the seat tube extends. The holding portion is structured to hold a power storage member. With this holder, when a battery is held in the holding portion and inserted into the seat tube, the restricting portion contacts the opening of the seat tube and the holder is attached inside the seat tube. Here, the holder is attached inside the seat tube where the saddle is attached on the opening side, and movement in the insertion direction is restricted. This holds the battery without spoiling the aesthetic look of the bicycle.

JP 2013-122816 A

When attempting to house a battery for an electronic gear shifter in a seat post, using conventional mounting methods limits the required dimensions of the seat post, limiting functionality and design. For example, even if attempts are made to improve the seat post with the aim of improving aerodynamic performance and reducing volume, there is a limit to how thin the seat post can be made, meaning that aerodynamic performance and weight reduction cannot be improved satisfactorily. Therefore, at present, there is still room to consider new methods of housing the battery in order to improve functionality and design in the future.

The object of the present invention is to provide an assembly including a bicycle battery and battery holder that can improve aerodynamic performance and reduce the weight of the bicycle by improving hollow members such as seat posts, while also providing sufficient fixing force, as well as a bicycle and battery holder that are equipped with this assembly.

After extensive research to resolve the above-mentioned issues, the inventors discovered that the above-mentioned issues could be resolved by configuring the assembly including the bicycle battery and battery holder as follows, and thus completed the present invention.

That is, the assembly of the present invention is an assembly including a bicycle battery and a battery holder,
the battery holder has a first member that covers one end of the bicycle battery and a second member that covers a peripheral surface of the bicycle battery, and has a structure that allows the first member and the second member to be connectable;
the connectable structure includes a hook portion having a folded-back structure included in the first member and a hook frame portion corresponding to the hook portion included in the second member,
The first member and the second member are detachable,
The hook frame portion is provided on the outer periphery of the second member.

In the assembly of the present invention, it is preferable that the material of the first member is different from the material of the second member. Furthermore, in the assembly of the present invention, it is preferable that both the first member and the second member have a mating protrusion that can be fitted into a groove provided on the peripheral surface of the bicycle battery. Also, in the assembly of the present invention, it is preferable that the first member has a pulling portion that protrudes toward the axial outside of the bicycle battery. Furthermore, in the assembly of the present invention, it is preferable that the second member has a protrusion that extends toward the radial outside of the bicycle battery.

The bicycle of the present invention is characterized in that the bicycle battery and battery holder assembly of the present invention is mounted inside a hollow member of the bicycle.

In the bicycle of the present invention, it is preferable that the hollow member is a seat post.

The battery holder of the present invention is an assembly including a bicycle battery and a battery holder,
the battery holder has a first member that covers one end of the bicycle battery and a second member that covers a peripheral surface of the bicycle battery, and has a structure that allows the first member and the second member to be connectable;
the connectable structure includes a hook portion having a folded-back structure included in the first member and a hook frame portion corresponding to the hook portion included in the second member,
The first member and the second member are detachable,
The hook frame portion is provided on the outer periphery of the second member.

The present invention provides an assembly including a bicycle battery and battery holder that can obtain sufficient fixing force in line with improvements to hollow members such as the seat post to improve aerodynamic performance or reduce the weight of the bicycle, as well as a bicycle and battery holder equipped with the assembly. The battery holder of the assembly of the present invention, i.e., the battery holder of the present invention, has a small number of parts and a simple structure, and allows for flexible improvements to be made to the seat post to improve its aerodynamic performance and reduce its weight, making it ideal for use as a battery holder for sports-type bicycles that require high speed riding.

1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of an assembly including a bicycle battery and a battery holder according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an assembly including a bicycle battery and a battery holder according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic side view of a first member of a battery holder according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a second member of a battery holder according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of a first member of a battery holder according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic side view of a bicycle according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention;

The following describes in detail the bicycle battery (hereinafter simply referred to as "battery") and battery holder (hereinafter simply referred to as "holder") assembly of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of an assembly including a bicycle battery and battery holder according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic side view of an assembly including a bicycle battery and battery holder according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a schematic side view of a first member of a battery holder according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 4 is a schematic side view of a second member of a battery holder according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The assembly 1 of the present invention can be suitably accommodated in a hollow member of a bicycle, particularly in a seat post, and includes a battery 10 and a holder for the battery 10. In the illustrated example, the holder has a first member 20 that covers the terminal end of the rod-shaped battery 10, and a second member 30 that covers the peripheral surface of the battery 10. In the illustrated example, the first member 20 has an opening 21 that fits in the vicinity of the terminal of the battery 10, and a restricting portion 22 that restricts the assembly 1 of the present invention from entering too far inside the hollow member when the assembly 1 of the present invention is accommodated in the hollow member. Furthermore, the first member 20 also serves as a removal function when removing the assembly 1 of the present invention accommodated in the hollow member, and the illustrated first member 20 has a pulling portion 25 that protrudes toward the axial outside of the battery 10 (the direction in which the assembly 1 of the present invention is pulled when removing the assembly 1 of the present invention installed in the hollow member of the bicycle). The second member 30 has a through hole 31 in the approximate center through which the battery 10 can be inserted, and the battery 10 is inserted into this through hole 31. In the illustrated example, the second member 30 has multiple pleated protrusions 32 that protrude outward in the radial direction of the battery 10 (the direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the battery 10).

In the assembly 1 of the present invention, the first member 20 and the second member 30 have a structure that allows them to be connected. This makes the structure of the assembly 1 of the present invention strong. An example of such a connectable structure is a structure in which the first member 20 has a hook portion 24 having a fold-back structure 24a that folds back toward the radially outer side of the battery 10, and the second member 30 has a hook frame portion 34 that corresponds to the fold-back structure 24a of the hook portion 24 of the first member 20. In the illustrated example, the first member 20 has a pair of hook portions 24 with fold-back structures 24a at their ends that extend toward the axial inside of the battery 10 (the direction in which the assembly 1 is inserted when the assembly 1 of the present invention is housed in a hollow member), and the second member 30 is provided with a frame-shaped hook frame portion 34 that hooks the fold-back structure 24a at the end of the hook portion 24 of the first member 20, but there is no particular restriction as long as the structure allows the first member 20 and the second member 30 to be firmly connected. For example, a protrusion for hooking may be provided at the tip of the hook portion 24.

In the assembly 1 of the present invention, the first member 20 and the second member 30 are preferably made of different materials. As described above, the first member 20 covers the terminal side end of the battery 10, and is also a member that is pulled when the assembly 1 of the present invention housed in a hollow member such as a seat post is removed. For this reason, a material with strength is preferable, and for example, resin, metal, etc. are preferably used, but this is not limited to this. Considering strength and light weight, the first member 20 is preferably made of resin. The second member 30 covers the peripheral surface of the battery 10, and at the same time, when the assembly 1 of the present invention is housed in a hollow member such as a seat post, it has the function of fixing the position of the assembly 1 by frictional force with the inner surface of the hollow member. Considering such a function, the second member 30 is preferably made of an elastic body. For example, it is preferable to use an elastic polymer material such as rubber, but silicone, urethane, etc. can also be used.

In addition, in the assembly 1 of the present invention, both the first member 20 and the second member 30 preferably have mating protrusions 23, 33 that can fit into the groove 11 provided on the peripheral surface of the battery 10. In the illustrated example, the peripheral surface of the battery 10 in the assembly 1 of the present invention has a ring-shaped groove 11 formed thereon, and this groove 11 fits into the mating protrusions 23, 33 provided on the first member 20 and the second member 30, respectively. These also function as positioning means, and the mating protrusions 23, 33 provided on the first member 20 and the second member 30 fit into the groove 11 of the battery 10, allowing the holder to be attached to the battery 10 in an accurate position and more firmly. In the illustrated example, the mating protrusions 23 of the first member 20 and the mating protrusions 33 of the second member 30 are provided in pairs at symmetrical positions on the inner circumferential surfaces of the first member 20 and the mating protrusions 33 of the second member 30, and are positioned at approximately 90° offset from each other. In the illustrated example, the mating protrusions 23 of the first member 20 are provided on the inner circumferential surface of the hook portion 24, but are not limited to this structure.

Furthermore, as described above, in the assembly 1 of the present invention, it is preferable that the first member 20 has a pulling portion 25 that protrudes toward the outside in the axial direction of the battery 10. In the example shown in Figures 1 to 3, the first member 20 has a pair of pulling portions 25 that extend toward the outside in the axial direction of the battery 10, each of which has a roughly L-shape. When removing the assembly 1 of the present invention from the hollow member, it can be easily removed by grasping and pulling the pulling portions 25. In the assembly 1 of the present invention, the shape of the pulling portions 25 is not limited to the roughly L-shape as shown in the figures.

Figure 5 shows a schematic side view of the first member of a battery holder according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the first member 20A of the battery holder according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention has a configuration substantially similar to the first member 20 of the battery holder according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, and has an opening 21A, a restricting portion 22A, a mating protrusion 23A, a hook portion 24A having a folded-back structure 24Aa, and a pulling portion 25A, but the pulling portion 25A of the first member 20A has a substantially U-shaped configuration.

In addition, in the assembly 1 of the present invention, it is preferable that the second member 30 has a protrusion 32 extending radially outward from the battery 10. In the illustrated example, a plurality of pleated protrusions 32 are formed from the outer periphery of the second member 30, protruding radially outward from the battery 10. In the assembly 1 of the present invention, the thickness of the second member 30 may be approximately the same diameter as the inside of the hollow member of the bicycle, and the entire outer periphery of the second member 30 may be used to prevent the assembly 1 from slipping inside the hollow member such as a seat post, but in this case, it may become difficult to attach and detach the assembly 1, or the weight of the assembly 1 may increase. Therefore, in the assembly 1 of the present invention, it is preferable to provide the second member 30 with a pleated protrusion 32 as shown in the figure. It is preferable that the pleated protrusion 32 is approximately the same as the internal shape of the hollow member such as a seat post, and is formed slightly larger. With this configuration, when the assembly 1 of the present invention is housed in a hollow member, the protrusion 32 deforms and exerts a large frictional force, allowing the assembly 1 of the present invention to be firmly fixed.

In the assembly 1 of the present invention, the second member 30 needs to cover at least a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the battery 10, but may cover the entire outer circumferential surface of the battery 10. However, considering the weight reduction of the bicycle, manufacturing costs, and the ease of fitting and removing the second member 30, it is preferable that the second member 30 has a structure in which a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the battery 10 is covered in an annular shape, as shown in the figure. The second member 30 shown in the figure is provided with a window portion 35 for the purposes of ease of fitting and removing the second member 30 to the battery 10 and for the purpose of lightweight construction.

The important thing about the battery holder of the present invention, the assembly 1, is that it has a first member 20 that covers one end of the bicycle battery 10 and a second member 30 that covers the periphery of the bicycle battery 10, and that the first member 20 and the second member 30 have a structure that allows them to be connected; there are no other limitations to the structure. For example, the size of the battery 10 itself can be designed and changed as appropriate depending on the purpose.

The assembly 1 of the present invention can be housed in any hollow member that constitutes a bicycle frame, such as the head tube, top tube, down tube, or seat tube, or a seat post to which a saddle can be attached, but is preferably the seat post. For example, in bicycles where the battery storage position was previously specified as the seat post, it was difficult to improve the seat post to have a flattened cross-sectional shape, or a so-called aerodynamic shape, but by using the battery 10 of the present invention, an assembly can be made that matches the improvements made to the seat post, making it possible to change to a seat post with a narrower diameter or an aerodynamic shape.

Next, the bicycle of the present invention will be described.
6 is a schematic side view of a bicycle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The bicycle 100 shown in the figure comprises a main frame 101, a front wheel 102, a rear wheel 103, a saddle 104, handlebars 105, and a crankshaft 106 which are provided on the main frame 101, cranks 107 provided on both the left and right sides of the crankshaft 106, and pedals 108 provided on the crank 107. The bicycle 100 of the present invention comprises the bicycle battery 10 of the present invention within a hollow member of the bicycle, such as a seat post 111 to which the saddle 104 is attached, and a seat tube 112 to which the seat post 111 can be attached and which constitutes part of the main frame 101. As described above, in the past, in bicycles where the battery storage position was designated in the seat post 111, it was difficult to improve the cross-sectional shape of the seat post 111 to a flattened, so-called aerodynamic shape; however, by using the battery 10 of the present invention, it is possible to change to a seat post 111 with a narrow diameter or a seat post 111 with an aerodynamic shape.

The bicycle 100 of the present invention is not particularly limited in terms of the type of vehicle to which it can be applied, but it is suitable for sports bicycles such as road bikes, because by storing it inside the seat post 111, the diameter of the seat post 111 can be made thinner, reducing air resistance while the bicycle is in motion and making it lighter.

There are no particular limitations on the electrical equipment to which the battery 10 of the present invention supplies power. In the case of a racing bicycle, examples include electrically controllable electrical equipment such as a gear shifter, suspension, and display device, as well as devices for controlling these. For example, a speed sensor may be provided to automatically change the gear shifter according to the bicycle's speed. Other electrical equipment examples include lighting equipment, rearview monitors, cycle computers, navigation systems, and turn signals. Furthermore, in the bicycle 100 of the present invention, there are no particular limitations on the wiring of the cable (not shown) that supplies power from the battery 10 of the present invention to the electrical equipment, but it is preferable to run the cable inside the frame to improve the appearance and not interfere with the rider's riding.

Next, the bicycle battery holder of the present invention will be described.
The holder of the present invention is used in the assembly 1 of the present invention, and is as described in the assembly 1 of the present invention. That is, the holder of the present invention has a first member 20 that covers one end of the bicycle battery 10, and a second member 30 that covers the peripheral surface of the bicycle battery 10, and has a structure that allows the first member 20 and the second member 30 to be connected. In this way, the holder of the present invention has a small number of parts, a simple structure, and can be flexibly improved for the purpose of improving the aerodynamic performance of the seat post and reducing weight, so it can be suitably used as a battery holder for sports-type bicycles that require high-speed riding. The shape of the pulling part 25 of the first member 20 of the holder of the present invention shown in Figures 1 to 4 is approximately L-shaped, but as shown in Figure 5, the pulling part 25A of the first member 20A may be approximately U-shaped.

1 Bicycle battery and battery holder assembly (assembly)
10. Bicycle battery (battery)
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 11 groove portion 20, 20A first member 21, 21A opening 22, 22A restriction portion 23, 23A mating protrusion 24, 24A hook portion 24a, 24Aa folded-back structure 25, 25A pulling portion 30 second member 31 fitting hole 32 protrusion 33 mating protrusion 34 hook frame portion 35 window portion 100 bicycle 101 frame 102 front wheel 103 rear wheel 104 saddle 105 handlebar 106 crankshaft 107 crank 108 pedal 111 seat post 112 seat tube

Claims (8)

An assembly including a bicycle battery and a battery holder,
the battery holder has a first member that covers one end of the bicycle battery and a second member that covers a peripheral surface of the bicycle battery, and has a structure that allows the first member and the second member to be connectable;
the connectable structure includes a hook portion having a folded-back structure included in the first member and a hook frame portion corresponding to the hook portion included in the second member,
The first member and the second member are detachable,
An assembly, characterized in that the hook frame portion is provided on an outer periphery of the second member . 2. The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the material of said first member is different from the material of said second member. 3. The assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the first member and the second member each have a mating protrusion that can be fitted into a groove provided on the peripheral surface of the bicycle battery. 4. An assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the first member has a tension portion that protrudes axially outwardly of the bicycle battery. 5. An assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the second member has a protrusion extending radially outwardly of the bicycle battery. A bicycle comprising an assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 5 in a hollow member of the bicycle. 7. The bicycle of claim 6, wherein said hollow member is a seat post. A battery holder capable of holding a bicycle battery,
the battery holder has a first member that covers one end of the bicycle battery and a second member that covers a peripheral surface of the bicycle battery, and has a structure that allows the first member and the second member to be connectable;
the connectable structure includes a hook portion having a folded-back structure included in the first member and a hook frame portion corresponding to the hook portion included in the second member,
The first member and the second member are detachable,
A battery holder , characterized in that the hook frame portion is provided on an outer periphery of the second member .

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