Abstract:
A control device, either installed on a bicycle or carried by a user, communicates with the accessories via radio signals. The control device radiates control signals via its radio transceiver and the control signals are received by the radio transceivers of the accessories. Each accessory has a unique identification code which is encapsulated in the radio control signals so that the individual lamp or lock could be turned on and off or locked and unlocked. On the other hand, accessories such as speed sensor and body sensor could radiates their collected information to the control device which in turn calculates and displays readings such as the speed of the bicycle and the heart beat rate of the rider, etc.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention generally relates to the control of bicycles accessories such as lamps and lock, and more particularly to a device for centralized and wireless control of the various accessories of a bicycle. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Generally, a bicycle rider would have his or her bicycle installed with lamps, in addition to reflection stickers and plates, so as to provide lighting and therefore to achieve enhanced safety in the night. A conventional bicycle lamp mainly contains, for example as disclosed by the Republic of China, Taiwan, Patent Application Serial Number 84215658, a cover shell, a lamp base, a positioning seat, and a lamp cover, etc. A light bulb is positioned inside the lamp cover, and a laterally operated control switch is provided at an end of the lamp base for adjusting the brightness of the light bulb. 
         [0003]    Another common accessory to a bicycle is the lock. There are many locking devices developed in the market. U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,267 discloses a remotely controllable bicycle lock and alarm system including a radio wave processor for receiving a communication from a remote control device. The radio wave processor is coupled to a control circuit. A sound generator, a locking mechanism, and an input/out system are also coupled to the control circuit. The system enables a user to remotely lock and unlock his/her bicycle, and notifies the user of a tampering with his/her bicycle. 
         [0004]    Also, a remote locking apparatus for a cabinless, light vehicle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,768,219. The remote locking apparatus comprises a portable infrared transmitter, an infrared receiver disposed at an uppermost portion of a vehicle body, a lock actuator for locking and unlocking at least one lock mechanism incorporated in the vehicle body, and a control apparatus for controlling the lock actuator based on the infrared signal received by the infrared receiver. 
         [0005]    In U.S. Pat. No. 7,104,091, a bicycle lock is disclosed which can be fastened to a bicycle without any special holding device and which secures the bicycle, the seat support, and the seat. The bicycle lock is combined with a rear light which can only be activated when the safety lock is not closed. 
         [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,071,819 discloses a remote control lock operation system which comprises a hand-held remote control transmitter, a receiver, a control unit for determining whether the signal received by the receiver is acceptable and controlling the lock actuator based on the received signal when it is acceptable. The system is capable to unlock a mechanical locking mechanism of the vehicle by a infrared signal, without using the key. 
         [0007]    As described above, a bicycle lamp is usually turned on or off by a laterally operated control switch on the lamp base. If more lamps are installed on the bicycle, such as a left-turn signal lamp, a right-turn signal lamp, a back lamp, etc., a user has to operate the control switches of the lamps one by one. In addition, the control switch only provides the adjustment of brightness; it cannot flash the light bulb. 
         [0008]    In addition, a user has to separately lock or unlock the bicycle lock manually by a key or by a remote control mechanism described above. In other words, the control and operation of these bicycle accessories is rather inconvenient. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    Therefore, a major objective of the present invention is to provide a novel control device to unify the control of various lamps&#39; states of a bicycle. 
         [0010]    Another objective of the present invention is that the novel control device could also lock and unlock a bicycle. 
         [0011]    To fulfill the above objects, the present invention provides a unified control device for bicycle assessory. The control device, either installed on a bicycle or carried by a user, communicates with the accessories via radio signals. The control device radiates control signals via its radio transceiver and the control signals are received by the radio transceivers of the accessories. Each accessory has a unique identification code which is encapsulated in the radio control signals so that the individual lamp or lock could be turned on and off or locked and unlocked, and their statuses are displayed on the control device. On the other hand, accessories such as speed sensor and body sensor could radiates their collected information to the control device which in turn calculates and displays readings such as the speed of the bicycle and heart beat rate of the rider, etc. 
         [0012]    The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts. 
         [0013]    Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram showing a control device constructed according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram showing the control device of  FIG. 1  and various accessories installed on a bicycle; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the control device. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0017]    The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 
         [0018]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a control device  100  according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed on a bicycle  1 . The bicycle  1  has a front lamp  11 , a back lamp  12 , a left-turn signal lamp  13 , a right-turn signal lamp  14  and an electronic lock  15 . The control device  100  is an independent device having a display unit  4  and a button set  3  on a front surface of the control device  100 . 
         [0019]    The button set  3  comprises a plurality of numeric key pads  31 , a front-lamp control button  32 , a back-lamp control button  33 , a lock control button  34 , a reset button  35   a , a set button  35   b , a mode button  35   c , a left-turn-signal-lamp control button  36 , a right-turn-signal-lamp control button  37 , a brightness control button  38 , and a flash control button  39 . 
         [0020]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the control device  100  comprises a radio transceiver  5 , a microprocessor  6 , a code table  7 , a memory unit  8 , an alarm unit  9 , a speed sensor  16  and a body sensor  17 . The microprocessor  6  is connected to and interacted with the display unit  4  and the button set  3 . The memory unit  8  for the storage of data and instructions used in the operation of the microprocessor  6 , the radio transceiver  5  for sending and receiving radio signals to and from the various accessories (e.g., the lamps, lock, etc.) of the bicycle  1 , and the code table  7  for the storage of the identification codes of the controlled lamps and lock, are all connected separately to the microprocessor  6 . 
         [0021]    The front lamps  11  has a built-in radio transceivers  111 ; the back lamp  12  has a built-in radio transceivers  121 ; the left-turn signal lamp  13  has a built-in radio transceivers  131 ; the right-turn signal lamp  14  has a built-in radio transceivers  141 ; and the lock  15  has a built-in radio transceivers  151 . 
         [0022]    When a user presses the front-lamp control button  32 , a corresponding electrical signal S 1   a  is generated and sent to the microprocessor  6  which in turn retrieves the identification code of the front lamp  11  and sends the identification code along with an activation signal S 2  to the radio transceiver  5 . The radio transceiver  5  radiates a corresponding radio signal and the radio transceiver  111  of the front lamp  11  receives the radio signal. After the front lamp  11  recognizes from the identification code in the radio signal that it is the target object, the front lamp  11  is turned on or off accordingly. 
         [0023]    When a user presses the back-lamp control button  33 , a corresponding electrical signal S 1   b  is generated and sent to the microprocessor  6  which in turn retrieves the identification code of the back lamp  12  and sends the identification code along with an activation signal S 2  to the radio transceiver  5 . The radio transceiver  5  radiates a corresponding radio signal and the radio transceiver  121  of the back lamp  12  receives the radio signal. After the back lamp  12  recognizes from the identification code in the radio signal that it is the target object, the back lamp  12  is turned on or off accordingly. 
         [0024]    When a user presses the left-turn-signal-lamp control button  36 , a corresponding electrical signal S 1   d  is generated and sent to the microprocessor  6  which in turn retrieves the identification code of the left-turn signal lamp  13  and sends the identification code along with an activation signal S 2  to the radio transceiver  5 . The radio transceiver  5  radiates a corresponding radio signal and the radio transceiver  131  of the left-turn signal lamp  13  receives the radio signal. After the left-turn signal lamp  13  recognizes from the identification code in the radio signal that it is the target object, the left-turn signal lamp  13  is turned on or off accordingly. 
         [0025]    When a user presses right-turn-signal-lamp control button  37 , a corresponding electrical signal S 1   e  is generated and sent to the microprocessor  6  which in turn retrieves the identification code of the right-turn signal lamp  14  and sends the identification code along with an activation signal S 2  to the radio transceiver  5 . The radio transceiver  5  radiates a corresponding radio signal and the radio transceiver  141  of the right-turn signal lamp  14  receives the radio signal. After the right-turn signal lamp  14  recognizes from the identification code in the radio signal that it is the target object, the right-turn signal lamp  14  is turned on or off accordingly. 
         [0026]    When a user presses the brightness control button  38 , a corresponding electrical signal S 1   f  is sent to the microprocessor  6 . Similar to the foregoing description, the radio transceiver  5  radiates a brightness adjustment radio signal. In one embodiment, all lamps  11  to  14  will respond accordingly while in an alternative embodiment, one of the lamp buttons  32 ,  33 ,  36 , and  37  is operated along with the brightness control button  38  to specify a specific lamp. Usually, each lamp has several brightness levels, and a lamp would cycle through these levels or modes upon receiving the brightness adjustment radio signals. 
         [0027]    When a user presses the flash control button  39 , a corresponding electrical signal S 1   g  is sent to the microprocessor  6 . Similar to the foregoing description, the radio transceiver  5  radiates a flash mode adjustment radio signal. In one embodiment, all lamps  11  to  14  will respond accordingly while in an alternative embodiment, one of the lamp buttons  32 ,  33 ,  36 , and  37  is operated along with the flash control button  39  to specify a specific lamp. Usually, each lamp has several flash modes, and a lamp would cycle through these modes upon receiving the flash mode adjustment radio signals. 
         [0028]    The lock  15  is usually installed on the front fork or the back fork to lock the front or back wheel. When a user presses the lock control button  34 , a corresponding electrical signal S 1   c  is generated and sent to the microprocessor  6  which in turn retrieves the identification code of the lock  15  and sends the identification code along with an activation signal S 2  to the radio transceiver  5 . The radio transceiver  5  radiates a corresponding radio signal and the radio transceiver  151  of the lock  15  receives the radio signal. After the lock  15  recognizes from the identification code in the radio signal that it is the target object, the lock  15  is locked or unlocked accordingly. 
         [0029]    After a user presses the lock control button  34 , the user has to enter a correct pass code via the numeric key pads  31  three times. Then, the activation signal S 2  is sent to the radio transceiver  5  by the microprocessor  6 . 
         [0030]    The display unit  4 , under the control of the microprocessor  6 , has a plurality of display areas to show the status of the various accessories. For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a front-lamp display area  41  shows the on/off status of the front lamp  11 , a back-lamp display area  42  shows the on/off status of the back lamp  12 , and a lock display area  43  shows the locked/unlocked status of the lock  15 . There is also a numeric display area  44  showing, for example, the current speed of the bicycle  1  and the pass code when it is entered. 
         [0031]    The speed sensor  16  is usually installed to monitor either the front wheel or the back wheel. The speed sensor  16  has a built-in radio transceiver  161  which radiates a radio signal for each turn of the wheel to the radio transceiver  5  of the microprocessor  6 . Together with information such as the diameter of the wheel, the microprocessor  6  is able to calculate the speed of the bicycle  1  and shows the calculation result on the display unit  4 . 
         [0032]    The body sensor  17 , worn by the bicycle rider, is able to pick up the rider&#39;s biological signals such as heart beat, body temperature, etc. These signals are then transmitted to the microprocessor  6  via the body sensor  17 &#39;s built-in radio transceiver  171 . Again, the microprocessor  6  is able to calculate the heart beat rate, etc. and shows the calculation result in the display unit  4 . 
         [0033]    The reset button  35   a , the set button  35   b , and the mode button  35   c , together with the numeric key pads  31 , are used to configure the various parameters of the control device  100  such as the pass code, the diameter of the wheel, etc. 
         [0034]    The control device  100  could further comprises an alarm unit  9  connected to and controlled by the microprocessor  6  inside the casing. The alarm unit  9  is for issuing audible alarms when an abnormality has occurred such as the pass code is not entered correctly or when the lock  15  is tampered with. 
         [0035]    The control device  100 , instead of being installed on the bicycle  1 , could also be carried by the bicycle rider. The rider is therefore able to remotely control the accessories of the bicycle  1  as long as the bicycle  1  is within the radio coverage. 
         [0036]    While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.