Electrically motorized wheel, particularly for bicycles, with in

Details Electrically motorized wheel, particularly for bicycles, with in Electrically motorized wheel, particularly for bicycles, with in

1994-06-15

1996-10-01

Johnson, Brian L.

Motor vehicles

Power

Electric

180 656, 180221, B60K 100, B60K 700, B60K 2508

Patent

active

055604420

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to a motorized wheel for light vehicles in general, and particularly for bicycles, which is provided with an electric motor and a mechanical two-ratio gear change, which ape housed in the hub of the said wheel.
Motorized wheel for bicycles are already known, and the electric motor housed in their hub is fed by a rechargeable battery, fixed to the bicycle frame, which allows a certain degree of autonomy and which can be connected or disconnected by the user by manoeuvering a special control.
There is also a publication (DE-A-27 02 541) relating to a motorized wheel, in particular for a child's bicycle, which incorporates a gear change, comprising wheelworks end levers which can be moved by means of a wire, for transmitting the rotary movement of the driving shaft pinion to one of two crown gears of different diameters made in the wheel hub.
Such a system is far too complicated and expensive, and it is easily subject to breaking, because of the continual engaging and disengaging of the different gears during gear changing.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aim of the present invention is to provide a motorized wheel of the above mentioned type, provided with a gear change, which will be simple and economical to produce, and will eliminate or at least greatly reduce risks of the motorized device breaking or not working, by maintaining the various gears in mesh.
Another aim of the invention is to provide a motorized wheel of the above type in which the gear shifting can take place automatically.
Yet another aim of the invention is to provide a motorized wheel of such type, which will allow the vehicle to be used with electric traction only or with muscular traction only, or with a combination of electric and muscular traction.
The motorized wheel according to the invention is substantially characterized in that the shaft of the electric motor has two ends which are opposed which respect to the axis of the wheel hub, each one being provided with a respective pinion in constant mesh with one or more concentric crown wheels foreseen on the wheel hub, and with different reduction ratios.
The movement is transmitted to the two pinions by means of respective free wheels, in such a way that each pinion is set in rotation only when the driving shaft rotates in the correct direction, while the other remains free.
Since the two pinions work with different reduction ratios, passing from one ratio to the other takes place simply by reversing the rotation of the driving shaft, which takes place immediately by inverting the feed polarity of the motor, by means of a commutator in the case of direct current, or by means of a motor inverter in the case of alternating current.
Such inversion can be made automatic by means of an electronic circuit on the basis of the current absorbed by the motor. When such current goes over a predetermined threshold it automatically reverses the rotation, connecting the higher reduction ratio and viceversa.
In a first embodiment of the invention, the different reduction ratios are obtained by using bevel pinions with different diameters, which engage with different concentric crown wheels at the same time.
In a second embodiment of the invention, at least one of the two pinions is connected to the driving shaft by means of an epicycloidal reduction gear, with the two pinions engaging preferably with the same crown wheel, in this case.
According to another embodiment of the invention, at least one of the two bevel pinions engages with a corresponding bevel gear, which in turn operates a crown gear mounted outside a freewheel and engages with the inner profile of the crown wheel.


BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further characteristics of the invention will be explained more clearly in the detailed description which follows, referring to unrestrictive exemplary embodiments thereof, illustrated in the appended drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a wheel for a bicycle with a motorized hub, according to the invention;


REFERENCES:
patent: 1010111 (1911-11-01), Baker
patent: 1090684 (1914-03-01), Church
patent: 1155123 (1915-09-01), Barton
patent: 1321898 (1919-11-01), Dey
patent: 3517574 (1970-06-01), Glatfelter
patent: 4481841 (1984-11-01), Abthoff et al.
Disegno Di Macchine, Mario Speluzzi, Mario Tessarotto, 1963, pp. 416-418.

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