Abstract:
A bicycle includes planet gear set in the rear wheel and cranks are connected tot eh planet gear set to drive the bicycle. A motor is located in the front wheel so as to drive the front wheel so that the bicycle can be operated in two different ways. The front and rear wheels each have magnets which are cooperated with induction members so that when the wheels rotate, the change of magnetic field generates power for the motor. The top tube of the bicycle includes multiple joints which allow the bicycle to be folded into a compact size.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a bicycle, and more particularly, to a foldable bicycle which is able to be operated manually or electrically. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A conventional bicycle generally includes a transmission mechanism which includes cranks, a driving wheel, a passive gear, and a chain which is connected between the driving wheel and the passive gear. The driving wheel is co-axially connected to the bottom bracket and the passive gear is co-axially connected to the rear wheel axle. When the user rotates the cranks, the driving wheel drives the chain which rotates the passive gear so that the rear wheel rotates to move the bicycle. Generally, the driving wheel has more teeth than that of the passive gear and this makes the user has to apply a significant force to rotate the passive gear. 
         [0003]    Another bicycle is equipped with a motor which replaces the cranks to drive the bicycle. Nevertheless, the motor has fixed power, this means that the bicycle is driven by a constant speed and torque. When the bicycle goes uphill, the fixed power cannot provide more torque and the speed of the bicycle slows down. When the bicycle goes downhill, the fixed power cannot control the speed and the speed of the bicycle accelerates. 
         [0004]    The power for the motor is provided by a battery which has to be charged from outside and the battery is bulky and occupies a lot of space. For a long distance travel, the user has to charge the battery frequently. 
         [0005]    The present invention intends to provide a bicycle with two operation molds which are operate the bicycle manually and electrically, wherein the power for the motor can be self-generated during riding. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention relates to a bicycle which comprises a rear wheel driving device including a planet gear set located in the rear wheel and the planet gear set includes a sun gear and multiple planet gears. The sun gear is connected to a rear wheel axle which is connected to a driving gear on the bottom bracket. Two cranks are connected to the driving gear so as to operate the driving gear. The planet gears are engaged between the sun gear and a first ring gear. The first ring gear is connected to the rear wheel and drives the rear wheel. 
         [0007]    A front wheel driving device is received in the front wheel and includes a motor whose axis is perpendicular to a front wheel axle. The motor includes an output shaft and a driving gear on two ends thereof wherein the driving gear is connected with two second ring gears located on two sides of the motor, and the second ring gears are connected to the front wheel and driving the front wheel. 
         [0008]    A speed control mechanism includes a speed controller, a PC box and a counter, wherein the speed controller is connected to the handlebar and includes a lever which controls the variable resistances, the indication lights and the circuit board. The PC box is connected to a front end of the top tube and includes a PC control system which is connected with the circuit board and the counter. The counter is located in the front wheel and corresponding to the output shaft of the motor. 
         [0009]    A generating and storage device includes two generating devices, a charging device, an adaptor and a battery. The generating device is connected to the front wheel and the rear wheel. Each generating device includes magnets which are arranged in radial direction. Two pairs of induction members are connected to the front fork and the seat stay respectively, and located corresponding to the magnets. The induction members are connected to the charging device. The charging device and the adaptor are located within a mediate portion of the top tube. The charging device further includes a switch and a plug, the battery is electrically connected to the motor. The top tube includes multiple joints so that the top tube can be folded to reduce the space that the bicycle occupies. 
         [0010]    The primary object of the present invention is to provide a bicycle which can be operated manually or electrically, wherein the power that the motor needs can be self-generated when the bicycle is moving. 
         [0011]    The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view to show the bicycle of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the bicycle of the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view to show the rear wheel driving device of the bicycle of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view to show the front wheel driving device of the bicycle of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view to show the speed control mechanism of the bicycle of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  shows the rear wheel driving device of the bicycle of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  shows the front wheel driving device of the bicycle of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  illustrates the speed control mechanism of the bicycle of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  illustrates the generating device of the bicycle of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  shows the bicycle in folded status, and 
           [0022]      FIG. 11  shows that the bicycle is controlled by wire-less control feature. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0023]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the bicycle  1  of the present invention comprises a front fork  11  with a front wheel  15  connected thereto and a handlebar  14  is connected to a top of the front fork  11 . A top tube  13  is connected between the front fork  11  and a seat tube in which a seat post  12  is inserted. A seat is connected to the seat post  12 . A seat stay  17  is connected to the seat tube and a rear wheel  18  is connected to the seat stay  17 . The seat tube is connected to a bottom bracket and two cranks  16  are connected to the axle of the bottom bracket. Multiple joints  2  are connected to the top tube  13  which is foldable at the joints  2 . 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 6 , a rear wheel driving device  3  includes a planet gear set  31  which is located in the rear wheel  18  and includes a sun gear  311  and multiple planet gears  312 . The sun gear  311  is connected to a rear wheel axle  181  which is connected to a driving gear  161  on the bottom bracket. The two cranks  16  are connected to the driving gear  161  which is connected with a transmission device  162  which drives a passive gear  182  on the rear wheel axle  181  of the rear wheel  18 . The planet gears  312  are engaged between the sun gear  311  and a first ring gear  313  which is connected to the rear wheel  18  and drives the rear wheel  18 . A cover  32  is used to cover the sun gear  311 , the planet gears  312  and the first ring gear  313 . The transmission device  162  includes a transmission belt  1621  and transmission gears  1622  so that when the user rotates the cranks  16 , the force can be transferred to the rear wheel  18 . 
         [0025]    Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 7 , a front wheel driving device  4  is received in the front wheel  15  and includes a motor  41  whose axis is perpendicular to a front wheel axle  152 . The front wheel axle  152  includes two sections which extend from two sides of a rectangular frame  151 . An output shaft  411  and a driving gear  412  extend from two ends of the motor  41 , wherein the driving gear  412  is connected with two second ring gears  42  located on two sides of the motor  41 , and the second ring gears  42  are connected to the front wheel  15  so as to drive the front wheel  15 . 
         [0026]    Referring to  FIG. 5 , a speed control mechanism  5  is connected to the handlebar  14  and includes a speed controller  51 , a PC box  52  and a counter  53 . The speed controller  51  includes a lever  511  which controls variable resistances  512 , indication lights  513  such as LEDs and a circuit board  514 . The PC box  52  is connected to a front end of the top tube  13  and includes a PC control system (not shown) which is connected with the circuit board  514  and the counter  53 , the counter  53  which is located in the front wheel  15  and corresponding to the output shaft  411  of the motor  41 . 
         [0027]    A generating and storage device includes two generating devices  61 , a charging device  62 , an adaptor  63  and a battery  64 , wherein the generating devices  61  is connected to the front wheel  15  and the rear wheel  18 . Each generating device  61  includes magnets  611  arranged in radial direction. Two pairs of induction members  612  are connected to the front fork  11  and the seat stay  17  respectively, and located corresponding to the magnets  611 . The induction members  612  are connected to the charging device  62 , wherein the charging device  62  and the adaptor  63  are located within a mediate portion of the top tube  13  as shown in  FIG. 2 . The generating and storage device includes a switch  641  and a plug  642 . The battery  64  is electrically connected to the motor  41 . A front light  191  and a rear light  192  are connected to a front end and a rear end of the bicycle  1  respectively. The front light  191  and the rear light  192  are connected with the battery  64 . 
         [0028]    When the user operate the bicycle  1  by the manual mold as shown in  FIG. 6 , he or she treads the cranks  16  to drive the driving gear  161  and the power is transferred to the passive gear  182  and the rear wheel axle  181  by the transmission device  162 , the rear wheel axle  181  drives the sub gear  311  which drives the planet gears  182  and the first ring gear  313 . The first ring gear  313  drives the rear wheel  18  to move the bicycle  1 . 
         [0029]    When the user operate the bicycle  1  by the electrical mold as shown in  FIG. 7 , the switch  641  has to be activated to “ON” position and the battery  64  provides power to the motor  41 . The output shaft  411  of the motor  41  drives the driving gear  412  and the second ring gear  42 , such that the second ring gear  42  drives the front wheel  15 . 
         [0030]    When the bicycle  1  is operated by the electrical mold, the speed control mechanism  5  is activated and the counter  53  counts the revolutions of the output shaft  411  and detects the speed of the motor  41 . By the PC control system in the PC box  52 , the speed of the bicycle  1  can be controlled in different road conditions. 
         [0031]    The lever  511  can be switched to control the variable resistance  512  in the speed controller  51  as shown in  FIG. 5 . The block diagram of the PC control system is disclosed in  FIG. 8 . The power is transferred by an A/D interface from analog signals into digital signals which are sent to the CPU which sets the speed. In the meanwhile, the CPU transfers the digital signals into analog signals by the AMD interface, and sent to the control interface by the way of PWN to activate the motor  41 . The output voltage is fixed so that the speed of the motor  41  is changed by changing the width of band. When the speed of the bicycle  1  changes, the counter  53  sends signals to the CPU via the A/D interface and the signals are processed by the CPU and then sent to the driving interface via the way of PWN. By this way, the PC control system controls the output power according to the load of the bicycle  1 , such as the power is increased when the bicycle  1  moves uphill and reduced when the bicycle  1  moves downhill. A overload protection circuit monitors the operation of the motor  41  and obtains the voltage information of the battery  64  via a voltage detection interface, the information is then sent to the speed control mechanism  5  via I/O interface to avoid the battery  64  from over load or over charge. 
         [0032]    The bicycle  1  of the present invention can generate electric power during riding and the power is provided to the motor  41 , the indication lights  513  and front and rear lights  191 ,  192 . The surplus power can be stored in the battery  64 . During riding, the magnets  611  on the front wheel  15  and the rear wheel  18  move and inducted with the induction members  612  on the front fork  11  and the seat stay  17 , the cutting of the magnetic lines generates power. The faster the bicycle  1  moves, the larger the power is generated. The block diagram of the power generating and storage is disclosed in  FIG. 9 , the electric power generated from the induction member  612  is sent to the charging device  62  and the electric power is stored in the battery  64 . 
         [0033]    As shown in  FIG. 10 , the top tube  13  can be folded into three sections at the joints  2 . The front and rear wheels  15 ,  18  can be easily replaced and installed to the bicycle  1 , the user can choose desired sizes of the front and rear wheels  15 ,  18 . The folded bicycle  1  is compact and convenient to be transported. 
         [0034]    The structure of the bicycle  1  can also be used to scooter, golf cart or any other wheeled device. The speed control mechanism  5  can be controlled by wire-less method as shown in  FIG. 11  by installing an emitting device and a receiving device (both not shown) are respectively connected to the speed controller  51  and the PC box  52 . 
         [0035]    The bicycle  1  saves the user&#39;s effort by employing the planet gear set  31  which allows the user to accelerate the bicycle  1  easily. The speed of the bicycle can be controlled when the bicycle  1  moves uphill or downhill by the speed control mechanism  5 . Furthermore, the bicycle  1  generates electric power when it moves and the power provides the motor  41 , the indication lights  513  and front and rear lights  191 ,  192 . The surplus power can be stored in the battery  64 . 
         [0036]    While we have shown and described the embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.