Bicycle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12497129-B2
Application number	US-202217978298-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 1, 2022
Priority date	Nov 2, 2021
Publication date	Dec 16, 2025
Grant date	Dec 16, 2025

Abstract

A bicycle includes a vehicle-body frame, a front wheel that is a steered wheel, a rear wheel, a crankshaft, a pedal, a transmission to transmit rotation of the pedal to the rear wheel, a motor to apply at least a torque to cause rearward rotation of at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel, a roll detector to detect at least one of a roll angle or a roll angular velocity of the vehicle-body frame, and a steering detector to detect a direction of steering. When a vehicle speed is zero and a steering angle of the front wheel is not zero, the motor applies, to the at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel, a torque to maintain the roll angle of the vehicle-body frame based on the detected direction of steering and the at least one of the roll angle or the roll angular velocity.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A bicycle comprising:
a vehicle-body frame; a front wheel rotatably supported by the vehicle-body frame and that is a steered wheel; a rear wheel rotatably supported by the vehicle-body frame; a crankshaft rotatably supported by the vehicle-body frame; a pedal connected to the crankshaft to rotate together with the crankshaft; a transmission to transmit rotation of the pedal to the rear wheel; a motor to apply at least a torque to cause rearward rotation of at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel; a roll detector to detect at least one of a roll angle or a roll angular velocity of the vehicle-body frame; and a steering detector to detect a direction of steering of the front wheel; wherein when a vehicle speed in a forward direction of the bicycle is zero and a steering angle of the front wheel is not zero, the motor applies, to the at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel, a torque to maintain the roll angle of the vehicle-body frame based on the direction of steering detected by the steering detector and the at least one of the roll angle or the roll angular velocity of the vehicle-body frame of the bicycle detected by the roll detector; and when the vehicle speed of the bicycle in the forward direction is zero and the steering angle of the front wheel is not zero, a composite torque including (a) torque to cause forward rotation generated by a pedaling force on the pedal by a rider transmitted to the rear wheel via the transmission, and (b) a torque applied by the motor to the at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel contributes to a change in the roll angle of the vehicle-body frame.

2 . The bicycle according to claim 1 , wherein the motor is operable to apply the torque to maintain the roll angle when the steering angle of the front wheel satisfies a first steering-angle condition.

3 . The bicycle according to claim 1 , wherein the motor is operable to apply the torque to maintain the roll angle when the vehicle speed satisfies a first vehicle-speed condition.

4 . The bicycle according to claim 1 , wherein the motor is a hub motor mounted on a hub of the at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel.

5 . The bicycle according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a notifier to notify a rider that the motor is applying the torque to maintain the roll angle.

6 . The bicycle according to claim 1 , wherein the motor is operable to apply the torque to maintain the roll angle when an inclination angle of a front-rear direction of the bicycle satisfies a first inclination-angle condition.

7 . The bicycle according to claim 1 , wherein the torque to cause rearward rotation applied by the motor to maintain the roll angle is limited to a range cancelable by the pedaling force of the rider while the vehicle speed in the forward direction of the bicycle is zero.

8 . The bicycle according to claim 1 , wherein the torque to maintain the roll angle is disabled based on at least one of rotation of the pedal, rotation of the crankshaft, the vehicle speed, the steering angle of the front wheel, the roll angle or the roll angular velocity of the vehicle-body frame, an inclination angle of a front-rear direction of the bicycle, or an input operation by the rider on an input provided on the bicycle.

9 . The bicycle according to claim 1 , wherein the motor always produces a torque to cause rearward rotation to maintain the roll angle based on an input operation by the rider on an input provided on the bicycle.

10 . The bicycle according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of a determination as to whether the motor is to apply the torque to maintain the roll angle or an amount of control of the torque to maintain the roll angle is specifiable by an input operation by the rider on an input provided on the bicycle.

11 . The bicycle according to claim 1 , wherein, when the vehicle speed in the forward direction of the bicycle is zero and the steering angle of the front wheel is not zero, the motor, in response to an initiation of a change in the roll angle from a state where the vehicle-body frame is in an upright position and the roll angle is not changing, applies, to the at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel a torque in a direction that cancels the change in the roll angle.

12 . A bicycle comprising:
a vehicle-body frame; a front wheel rotatably supported by the vehicle-body frame and that is a steered wheel; a rear wheel rotatably supported by the vehicle-body frame; a crankshaft rotatably supported by the vehicle-body frame; a pedal connected to the crankshaft to rotate together with the crankshaft; a transmission to transmit rotation of the pedal to the rear wheel; a motor to apply at least a torque to cause rearward rotation of at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel; a roll detector to detect at least one of a roll angle or a roll angular velocity of the vehicle-body frame; and a steering detector to detect a direction of steering of the front wheel; wherein when a vehicle speed in a forward direction of the bicycle is zero and a steering angle of the front wheel is not zero, the motor applies, to the at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel, a torque to maintain the roll angle of the vehicle-body frame based on the direction of steering detected by the steering detector and the at least one of the roll angle or the roll angular velocity of the vehicle-body frame of the bicycle detected by the roll detector; and the transmission is operable to transmit both forward rotation and rearward rotation of the rear wheel to the pedal.

13 . A bicycle comprising:
a vehicle-body frame; a front wheel rotatably supported by the vehicle-body frame and that is a steered wheel; a rear wheel rotatably supported by the vehicle-body frame; a crankshaft rotatably supported by the vehicle-body frame; a pedal connected to the crankshaft to rotate together with the crankshaft; a transmission to transmit rotation of the pedal to the rear wheel; a motor to apply at least a torque to cause rearward rotation of at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel; a roll detector to detect at least one of a roll angle or a roll angular velocity of the vehicle-body frame; and a steering detector to detect a direction of steering of the front wheel; wherein when a vehicle speed in a forward direction of the bicycle is zero and a steering angle of the front wheel is not zero, the motor applies, to the at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel, a torque to maintain the roll angle of the vehicle-body frame based on the direction of steering detected by the steering detector and the at least one of the roll angle or the roll angular velocity of the vehicle-body frame of the bicycle detected by the roll detector; when the vehicle speed in the forward direction of the bicycle is zero and the steering angle of the front wheel is not zero, the motor is controlled to apply a torque to cause forward rotation of the at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel when the vehicle-body frame is about to tilt toward a direction to which the front wheel is steered; and the motor is controlled to apply the torque to cause rearward rotation of the at least one of the front wheel or the rear wheel when the vehicle-body frame is about to tilt toward a direction opposite to the direction to which the front wheel is steered.

Assignees

• Yamaha Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Higashi Tomoyuki
• Hasumi Mitsuharu
• Moriguchi Tatsuya

Classifications

• B62J45/412

  Speed sensors · CPC title

• B62J45/413

  Rotation sensors · CPC title

• B62H7/00

  Devices for learning to ride cycles, not otherwise provided for, e.g. assisting balance · CPC title

• B62M6/60

  power-driven at axle parts · CPC title

• B62J45/4151

  for sensing lateral inclination of the cycle · CPC title