Electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift and related method
First Claim
1. A method for controlling an electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift, comprising the steps of:
- a) driving an actuator of a bicycle gearshift to displace a chain of the gearshift in a chosen axial direction with respect to a gearshift group having a plurality of sprockets including at least two adjacent sprockets;
b) receiving information in a control unit on a desired alignment between the chain and a predetermined sprocket of the gearshift group; and
c) setting an adjustment variable common to all gear ratios of the gearshift group, in a control unit, of a logic value associated with a gear ratio relative to the predetermined sprocket to a value corresponding to the displacement carried out in step a) of driving the actuator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for electronically servo-assisting a bicycle gearshift to allow compensation for misalignments between the chain of a bicycle gearshift and one or more sprockets of the gearshift, the method including the steps of: driving an actuator of a bicycle gearshift to displace a chain of the gearshift in an axial direction with respect to a gearshift group comprising at least two sprockets; receiving information on the desired alignment between the chain and a predetermined sprocket of the gearshift group; and setting an adjustment variable, of a logic value associated with the gear ratio relative to the predetermined sprocket, to a value corresponding to the displacement carried out in the step of driving the actuator.
61 Citations
52 Claims
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1. A method for controlling an electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift, comprising the steps of:
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a) driving an actuator of a bicycle gearshift to displace a chain of the gearshift in a chosen axial direction with respect to a gearshift group having a plurality of sprockets including at least two adjacent sprockets;
b) receiving information in a control unit on a desired alignment between the chain and a predetermined sprocket of the gearshift group; and
c) setting an adjustment variable common to all gear ratios of the gearshift group, in a control unit, of a logic value associated with a gear ratio relative to the predetermined sprocket to a value corresponding to the displacement carried out in step a) of driving the actuator.
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2. A method for controlling an electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift, comprising the steps of:
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a) driving an actuator of a bicycle gearshift to displace a chain of the gearshift in a chosen axial direction with respect to a gearshift group having a plurality of sprockets including at least two adjacent sprockets;
b) receiving information in a control unit on a desired alignment between the chain and a predetermined sprocket of the gearshift group;
c) setting an adjustment variable, in a control unit, of a logic value associated with a gear ratio relative to the predetermined sprocket to a value corresponding to the displacement carried out in step a) of driving the actuator;
d) receiving a displacement request signal of the actuator in the chosen direction, wherein in step a) of driving the actuator, the displacement of the chain is carried out in accordance with the displacement request signal received in step d);
wherein step d) of receiving a displacement request signal and step a) of driving the actuator are repeated until receiving the information on the desired alignment in step b); and
e) subordinating a repetition of step a) of driving the actuator to check that the displacement carried out in step a) has not reached a maximum displacement value. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4)
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5. A method for controlling an electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift, comprising the steps of:
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a) driving an actuator of a bicycle gearshift to displace a chain of the gearshift in a chosen axial direction with respect to a gearshift group having a plurality of sprockets including at least two adjacent sprockets;
b) receiving information in a control unit on a desired alignment between the chain and a predetermined sprocket of the gearshift group;
c) setting an adjustment variable, in a control unit, of a logic value associated with a gear ratio relative to the predetermined sprocket to a value corresponding to the displacement carried out in step a) of driving the actuator;
d) receiving a displacement request signal of the actuator in the chosen direction, wherein in step a) of driving the actuator, the displacement of the chain is carried out in accordance with the displacement reuuest signal received in step d);
wherein step d) of receiving a displacement request signal and step a) of driving the actuator are repeated until receiving the information on the desired alignment in step b);
f) receiving an operating mode signal selected from the group comprising at least a normal ride operating mode and an adjustment operating mode; and
g) receiving a displacement request signal of the actuator to displace the chain in the chosen axial direction with respect to the gearshift group;
h1) wherein when the operating mode signal corresponds to the adjustment operating mode, at least steps a)-c) are carried out; and
h2) wherein when the operating mode signal corresponds to the normal ride operating mode, the step of driving the actuator of the gearshift to displace the chain of the gearshift in the chosen axial direction with respect to the gearshift group, between a position corresponding to a first sprocket of the gearshift group and a physical position corresponding to a second sprocket of the gearshift group is carried out, the physical positions being determined by the logic values associated with the sprockets as adjusted by the adjustment variable. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for controlling an electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift, comprising the steps of:
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a) driving an actuator of a bicycle gearshift to displace a chain of the gearshift in a chosen axial direction with respect to a gearshift group having a plurality of sprockets including at least two adjacent sprockets;
b) receiving information in a control unit on a desired alignment between the chain and a predetermined sprocket of the gearshift group;
c) setting an adjustment variable, in a control unit, of a logic value associated with a gear ratio relative to the predetermined sprocket to a value corresponding to the displacement carried out in step a) of driving the actuator;
d) receiving a displacement request signal of the actuator in the chosen direction, wherein in step a) of driving the actuator, the displacement of the chain is carried out in accordance with the displacement request signal received in step d);
j) providing means for detecting a relative position between the chain and the predetermined sprocket and providing the information on the desired alignment. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A method for controlling an electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift, comprising the steps of:
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a) driving an actuator of a bicycle gearshift to displace a chain of the gearshift in a chosen axial direction with respect to a gearshift group having a plurality of sprockets including at least two adjacent sprockets;
b) receiving information in a control unit on a desired alignment between the chain and a undetermined sprocket of the gearshift group;
c) setting an adjustment variable, in a control unit, of a logic value associated with a gear ratio relative to the predetermined sprocket to a value corresponding to the displacement carried out in step a) of driving the actuator;
k) driving the actuator of the gearshift to displace the chain of the gearshift in the chosen axial direction with respect to the gearshift group, from an initial position sequentially to each adjacent sprocket of the gearshift group; and
m) receiving second information on the desired alignment between the chain and a predetermined sprocket of the gearshift group. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A method for controlling an electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift, comprising the steps of:
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a) driving an actuator of a bicycle gearshift at a plurality of operating speeds to displace a chain of the gearshift in a chosen axial direction with respect to a gearshift group having a plurality of sprockets including at least two adjacent sprockets;
b) receiving information in a control unit on a desired alignment between the chain and a predetermined sprocket of the gearshift group; and
c) setting an adjustment variable, in a control unit, of a logic value associated with a sear ratio relative to the predetermined sprocket to a value corresponding to the displacement carried out in step a) of driving the actuator.
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19. A method for controlling an electronically servo-assisted bicycle gearshift, comprising the steps of:
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a) driving an actuator of a bicycle gearshift to displace a chain of the gearshift in a chosen axial direction with respect to a gearshift group having a plurality of sprockets including at least two adjacent sprockets;
b) receiving information in a control unit on a desired alignment between the chain and a predetermined sprocket of the gearshift group;
c) setting an adjustment variable, in a control unit, of a logic value associated with a gear ratio relative to the predetermined sprocket to a value corresponding to the displacement carried out in step a) of driving the actuator; and
n) selectively driving a stepper motor of the actuator by a first set number of steps and selectively driving the stepper motor by a second set number of steps greater than the first set number of steps to displace the chain.
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20. A bicycle gearshift comprising:
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a rear actuator and a front actuator having a respective motor to displace, through a guide element, a chain in an axial direction with respect to a respective gearshift group comprising at least two sprockets respectively associated with a hub of a rear wheel and with an axle of pedal cranks of a bicycle, in a selected direction;
manual input means comprising means for entering a signal requesting displacement of a selected actuator, respectively, in the selected direction; and
an electronic control unit connected to the input means, to the rear actuator and to the front actuator, operating, in a normal ride operating mode, to drive the selected actuator, respectively, based upon the displacement request signal to displace the chain from a first sprocket to a second adjacent sprocket of the respective gear-shift group;
wherein the manual input means comprises means for selecting operating mode at least between said normal ride operating mode and an adjustment operating mode;
wherein the electronic control unit, in the normal ride operating mode, drives the selected actuator, between a logic value associated with the first sprocket and a logic value associated with the second sprocket, modified by a value of an adjustment variable; and
wherein the electronic control unit is operative, in the adjustment operating mode, to drive the selected actuator based upon the displacement request signal to displace the chain in the selected direction and to increase or decrease the value of the adjustment variable the electronic control unit also having means for inputting information on the desired alignment between the chain and a predetermined sprocket of the gearshift group to switch from the adjustment operating mode to the normal ride operating mode. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A method for providing an adjustment operating mode of an electronic control unit for a servo-assisted bicycle gearshift system comprising:
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determining whether a gearshift displacement request is received;
determining whether a maximum displacement has been achieved;
moving a gearshift to provide a displacement of the gearshift to achieve a desired physical gearshift position; and
modifying a value of an adjustment variable, for modifying a logic value associated with a predetermined gear ratio, to be proportional to the displacement of the gearshift. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43)
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44. A bicycle gearshift system comprising:
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at least one actuator for displacing a transmission element from a first to at least a second sprocket;
at least a first input device for entering a displacement request signal and for selecting between operating modes;
an electronic control unit, for driving the actuator, in a first operating mode, in response to the displacement request signal, between a first logic value, as modified by an adjustment variable, associated with the first sprocket and at least a second logic value, as modified by the adjustment variable, associated with the second sprocket; and
, in a second operating mode, for setting a biunique correspondence between a physical position of the actuator and a logic value associated with a predetermined sprocket; and
, in a third operating mode, for modifying a value of the adjustment variable by a displacement of the gearshift corresponding to a desired alignment of the transmission element. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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Specification