Straddled vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10457288-B2
Application number	US-201815988121-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 24, 2018
Priority date	Jun 2, 2017
Publication date	Oct 29, 2019
Grant date	Oct 29, 2019

Abstract

A motorcycle includes an engine that generates a driving force during a normal traveling mode, and a vehicle driving motor that generates a driving force for moving a vehicle main body forward and backward during an auxiliary moving mode. A traveling speed of the vehicle main body is detected by a speed sensor, and the detected traveling speed is presented to the rider by a speedometer. A rotation speed of the vehicle driving motor or a rotation speed of a gear rotated by the vehicle driving motor is detected by a rotation speed sensor as a physical quantity that changes depending on a moving speed of the vehicle main body during the auxiliary moving mode. The vehicle driving motor is controlled based on the detected rotation speed such that the moving speed of the vehicle main body is close to or coincides with a target speed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A straddled vehicle comprising:
a vehicle main body;
a first driving source that generates a driving force for a forward movement of the vehicle main body based on an operation of a rider during a normal traveling mode;
a second driving source, separate from a starting motor, that generates a driving force for forward and backward movements of the vehicle main body based on an operation of the rider during an auxiliary moving mode;
a speed detector that detects a traveling speed of the vehicle main body;
a speed presenter that presents the traveling speed detected by the speed detector to the rider;
a physical quantity detector that is provided separately from the speed detector, and detects a physical quantity that changes depending on a moving speed of the vehicle main body during the auxiliary moving mode; and
a driving controller that controls the second driving source based on the physical quantity detected by the physical quantity detector during the auxiliary moving mode such that the moving speed of the vehicle main body is close to or coincides with a target speed that is equal to or lower than a predetermined value.

2. The straddled vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the predetermined value is an average speed of a walking person.

3. The straddled vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the physical quantity detector includes a rotation speed detector that detects a rotation speed of the second driving source or a rotation speed that is proportional to the rotation speed of the second driving source, and
the driving controller calculates the moving speed of the vehicle main body based on the rotation speed detected by the rotation speed detector.

4. The straddled vehicle according to claim 3 , further comprising:
a drive wheel rotatably provided at the vehicle main body; and
a reduction gear that is provided in a motive power transmission path from the second driving source to the drive wheel, wherein
the rotation speed detector detects a rotation speed that is higher than a rotation speed of the drive wheel in the reduction gear.

5. The straddled vehicle according to claim 4 , wherein
a driving force generated by the first driving source is transmitted to the drive wheel through a motive power transmission path, and the motive power transmission path from the first driving source to the drive wheel and the motive power transmission path from the second driving source to the drive wheel have a merging portion that is connected to the drive wheel, and
the rotation speed detector detects a rotation speed of the reduction gear in a portion, from the second driving source to the merging portion, of the motive power transmission path from the second driving source to the drive wheel.

6. The straddled vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the second driving source includes an electric motor.

7. The straddled vehicle according to claim 6 , wherein
the driving controller includes a current control circuit that controls a current supplied to the electric motor based on a physical quantity detected by the physical quantity detector.

8. The straddled vehicle according to claim 7 , wherein
the current control circuit includes
a plurality of current paths connected to the electric motor,
a plurality of switches that are provided in the plurality of current paths, and
a switch controller that performs switching on and off of the switches, wherein
the switch controller controls a current supplied to the electric motor by selectively switching on or off one or a plurality of switches based on the physical quantity detected by the physical quantity detector.

9. The straddled vehicle according to claim 8 , wherein
the switch controller
allows a first number of switches out of the plurality of switches to be switched on when the moving speed of the vehicle main body is equal to or higher than a preset lower limit value, and
allows a second number, that is larger than the first number, of switches to be switched on when the moving speed of the vehicle main body is lower than the lower limit value.

10. The straddled vehicle according to claim 8 , wherein
the switch controller shifts switching time points at which the plurality of switches are switched on and off from one another on a time axis.

11. The straddled vehicle according to claim 6 , wherein
the driving controller allows dynamic braking of the electric motor to be performed when a moving speed calculated based on a physical quantity detected by the physical quantity detector is equal to or larger than a preset upper limit value.

Assignees

• Yamaha Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Takayanagi Tomokazu
• Sawaoka Joji
• Maeda Kazuyuki
• Hirata Kosuke
• Kitamura Naoki

Classifications

• B60W30/18036

  Reversing · CPC title

• B60W2300/36

  Cycles; Motorcycles; Scooters · CPC title

• B60Y2200/12

  Motorcycles, Trikes; Quads; Scooters · CPC title

• B60L2200/12

  Bikes · CPC title

• B60W20/40

  Controlling the engagement or disengagement of prime movers, e.g. for transition between prime movers {(power-up or power-down of the driveline B60W30/192)} · CPC title