Sensor, drive force auxiliary device using the sensor, and torque sensor zero point adjusting mechanism of the drive force auxiliary device

• US 6,163,148 A
• Filed: 04/30/1997
• Issued: 12/19/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Kuniaki, Shinkai, Katsumi, Uetake, Akihito, Takada, Yutaka, Miyazawa, Hiroshi, Nakazato, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): SNOW, WALTER E
• Application Number:
  US08/849,833
• Time in Patent Office: 1,329 Days
• Field of Search: 324/207.15, 324/207.2, 324/207.21, 324/207.22, 324/207.25, 324/226, 180/206
• US Class Current: 324/226
• CPC Class Codes: B62M 6/45 Control or actuating devices therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B62M 6/50 characterised by detectors or sensors, or arrangement thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B62M 6/55 power-driven at crank shafts parts
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 2205/775 Tapered profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/145 influenced by the relative movement between the Hall device and magnetic fields see G01R33/06
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 3/101 involving magnetic or electromagnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 3/104 involving permanent magnets
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 3/105 involving inductive means G01L3/102, G01L3/104 take precedence

Abstract

The invention relates to a sensor provided with a magnet (52) and a magnetic detecting element (53) comprising a detection shaft (38a), a detection disc (59a) which is fixed to the detection shaft, a magnetic piece (59b) which is fixed to the outer circumference edge of the detection disc, a yoke (59c) which is disposed to hold the magnetic piece in a predetermined shaped gap, and the magnet and the magnetic detecting element both fixed to the yoke. The sensor is used for a drive force auxiliary device which combines a human power drive force and a motor drive force. The drive force auxiliary device comprises a torque sensor (30), a vehicle speed detecting means (40) for detecting a running speed of the drive force auxiliary device, and an auxiliary power means using a motor (M). The vehicle speed detecting means (40) detects a running speed by virtue of the drive force auxiliary device based on a rotation position signal obtained from a rotor rotation position detector. The torque sensor (30) includes a mechanism for automatically making a zero point adjustment by compensating an output voltage.

Claims

1. A sensor provided with a magnet and a magnetic detecting element comprising:

a detection shaft,

a detection disc which is fixed to the detection shaft,

a magnetic piece which is fixed to the outer circumference edge of the detection disc,

a yoke which is disposed to hold the magnetic piece in a predetermined shaped gap, and

the magnet and the magnetic detecting element both fixed to the yoke, wherein the magnet and the magnetic detecting element are fixed with a predetermined distance between them, the magnetic piece passes through the predetermined shaped gap having the predetermined distance during the rotation of the detection disc, and the magnetic piece has a shape of a circular arc, the radius of the circular arc being increased or decreased gradually along the outer circumference edge of the detection disc.

2. A drive force auxiliary device, the drive force auxiliary device comprising:

human power drive means configured by disposing a drive force transmitting mechanism having first and second rotors on the outer periphery of a crank shaft to which leg power is transmitted, and the drive force transmitting mechanism includes a first one-way clutch and an elastic member for transmitting human power drive force,

auxiliary drive means configured by disposing a motor and a reduction gear mechanism, and the drive force from the motor being added to the drive force transmitting mechanism on the outer periphery of the crank shaft through a second one-way clutch,

a torque sensor for detecting by a rotation angle sensor a difference of rotations of the first and second rotors, which are disposed at the front and rear of a drive force transmitting route of the elastic member, wherein

the rotation angle sensor comprises a detection shaft, a detection disc which is fixed to the detection shaft, a magnetic piece which is fixed to the outer circumference edge of the detection disc, a yoke which is disposed to hold the magnetic piece in a predetermined shaped gap, and the magnet and the magnetic detecting element both fixed to the yoke, wherein

the magnet and the magnetic detecting element are fixed with a predetermined distance between them and the magnetic piece passes through the predetermined shaped gap having the predetermined distance during the rotation of the detection disc, and rotation caused by the difference of rotations of the first and second rotors is transmitted to the detection shaft of the rotation angle sensor.

3. The drive force auxiliary device according to claim 2 wherein an elastic member for rotational energizing is disposed to push to rotate a detection shaft of the rotation angle sensor in a direction that the rotation angle sensor shows zero value.

4. The drive force auxiliary device according to claim 2 wherein the rotationally energizing elastic member has a pre-pressure value which is at least larger than a total frictional torque of the torque sensor mechanism and the rotation angle sensor.

5. The drive force auxiliary device according to claim 2 wherein the rotation angle sensor has a magnet disposed on a rotor which produces a difference in rotations and a magnetic detecting element disposed at an appropriate position on the side of a stator in the neighborhood of the magnet.

6. The drive force auxiliary device according to claim 5 wherein the magnetic detecting element is a Hall element, and the Hall element is connected to a temperature compensating circuit for compensating an output voltage of the Hall element.

7. The drive force auxiliary device according to claim 5, wherein the magnetic detecting element is a Hall element, a Hall IC, or an MR element.

8. The drive force auxiliary device according to claim 2 wherein the rotation angle sensor comprises a detection disc which is fixed to the detection shaft, a magnetic piece which is fixed to the outer circumference edge of the detection disc, a yoke which is disposed to hold the magnetic piece in a square C-shaped gap open downwards, and a magnet and a magnetic detecting element respectively fixed to opposed ends of the yoke.

9. The drive force auxiliary device according to claim 2, wherein the rotation angle sensor is accommodated in a case provided with a magnetic shield.

10. The drive force auxiliary device according to claim 2, wherein the torque sensor is configured to detect a difference of rotations between the first rotor and the second rotor which are disposed at the front and rear of the drive force transmitting route of the elastic member;

and a speed sensor is configured by embedding a magnet on the side and in the neighborhood of the outer periphery of the rotor member of the human power drive means or the torque sensor and fixing a magnetic detecting element to a position in the neighborhood of the side corresponding to this magnet.

11. The drive force auxiliary device according to claim 2 wherein the torque sensor is configured to detect by a sensor a difference of rotations between the first rotor and the second rotor which are disposed at the front and rear of the drive force transmitting route of the elastic member, and

the motor is a brushless motor which includes a magnet piece on the end face of the rotor to be detected for determining the rotation position of the rotor so as to detect the rotation position of the rotor to control the flow of current to exciting coils of respective phases, a magnetic detecting element is disposed in the neighborhood of a rotating track of the magnet piece to be detected and the magnetic of the magnet piece to be detected is detected by the magnetic detecting element to determine the rotation position of the rotor, and

a speed sensor is configured by connecting an input terminal of an amplifier to one of output terminals of the magnetic detecting element and connecting an output terminal of the amplifier to a control circuit.

12. The drive force auxiliary device according to claim 2 wherein a vehicle speed detecting mechanism comprises a torque sensor for detecting human power entered, a vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a running speed of the drive force auxiliary device, and an auxiliary power means using a motor;

the torque sensor, the vehicle speed detecting means and the auxiliary power means are accommodated in a single case.

13. The drive force auxiliary device according to claim 2 wherein a vehicle speed detecting mechanism comprises a torque sensor for detecting human power entered, a vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a running speed of the drive force auxiliary device, and an auxiliary power means using a motor;

the motor is provided with a rotor rotation position detecting means which detects a rotation position of the rotor to control commutation; and

the vehicle speed detecting means detects a running speed of the drive force auxiliary device based on a rotation position signal obtained from the rotor rotation position detecting means.

14. The vehicle speed detecting mechanism of the drive force auxiliary device according to claim 13 wherein vehicle speed detecting means of the vehicle speed detecting mechanism detects a running speed based on a time interval of the occurrences of a rotor position signal obtained from the rotor rotation position detecting means.

15. The vehicle speed detecting mechanism of the drive force auxiliary device according to claim 13, wherein vehicle speed detecting means of the vehicle speed detecting mechanism detects a running speed based on the number of rotor position signals obtained from the rotor rotation position detecting means in a predetermined time.

16. The vehicle speed detecting mechanism of the drive force auxiliary device according to claim 13 wherein the rotor rotation position detecting means has a magnet piece to be detected for determining the rotation position of the rotor on the end face of the rotor, and a single magnetic detecting element or a plurality of magnetic detecting elements disposed at predetermined angled intervals in the neighborhood of the rotating track of the magnet piece to be detected;

and the magnetic of the magnet piece to be detected is detected by the magnetic detecting element, thereby detecting the rotation position of the rotor.

17. A torque sensor zero point adjusting mechanism of the drive force auxiliary device according to claim 2 comprising a torque sensor which is connected to a human power transmission system to detect human power input and a zero point adjusting mechanism which corrects a human power detection value of the torque sensor by a zero point value,

the zero point adjusting mechanism comprises holding means for holding an output value of the torque sensor and subtracting means for subtracting a value held by the holding means from the output value of the torque sensor, and

wherein the initial output value from the torque sensor is held by the holding means when operation is made to start the drive force auxiliary device, the held value is determined as the zero point of the torque sensor, and the held value is always subtracted from the torque sensor output value by the subtracting means to obtain an output after the zero point adjustment.

18. The torque sensor zero point adjusting mechanism of the drive force auxiliary device according to claim 17, wherein after the operation of starting the drive force auxiliary device, when the output value from the torque sensor is smaller than the zero point value held by the holding means, the output value is adopted as a new zero point value.

19. The torque sensor zero point adjusting mechanism of the drive force auxiliary device according to claim 17, wherein when the output value from the torque sensor is smaller than the zero point value held b the holding means in a predetermined period after the operation of starting the drive force auxiliary device, a plurality of minimum values are stored and held, an average value of the plurality of minimum values is calculated, and the resulted average value is adopted as a new zero point value.

20. The torque sensor zero point adjusting mechanism of the drive force auxiliary device according to claim 17, wherein when the output value from the torque sensor is smaller than the zero point value held by the holding means and larger than a previously determined threshold value after the operation of starting the drive force auxiliary device, the output value is adopted as a new zero point value.

21. The torque sensor zero point adjusting mechanism of the drive force auxiliary device according to any one of claims 17 through 20, wherein the holding means or the subtracting means is made of hardware such as an analog circuit.

22. The torque sensor zero point adjusting mechanism of the drive force auxiliary device according to any one of claims 17 through 20, wherein the holding means or the subtracting means is achieved by a software program using a microprocessor and a memory.