Abstract:
A bicycle includes a frame, a charging circuit carried by the frame and configured to capture energy associated with movement of the bicycle, a power module carried by the frame, and a switch disposed electrically between the charging circuit and power module. The power module, in response to an indication that the bicycle is travelling downhill, closes the switch to enable energy transfer between the charging circuit and power module.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/630,999 filed Feb. 25, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference herein. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    This disclosure relates to controlling and generating power for a vehicle such as a bicycle. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    As the power demand for electronic devices and components on bicycles, as well as other human-powered vehicles, continues to increase, so does the desire for a user-generated power supply. Current systems may use a hub-mounted motor and a dynamo motor. However, higher efficiency systems are desired without the cost of hub-mounted motors and rolling resistance created by the current implementations. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0004]    A bicycle power system includes a bicycle having a charging circuit, and a power module attached to the bicycle. The power module is configured to receive power from the charging circuit based on an operational state of the bicycle, and in response to an indication of a braking state, to establish an electrical connection between the charging circuit and power module to enable power transfer therebetween. 
         [0005]    A bicycle includes a frame, a charging circuit carried by the frame and configured to capture energy associated with movement of the bicycle, a power module carried by the frame, and a switch disposed electrically between the charging circuit and power module. The power module is configured to, in response to an indication that the bicycle is travelling downhill, close the switch to enable energy transfer between the charging circuit and power module. 
         [0006]    A bicycle system includes a bicycle having a charging circuit configured to capture energy associated with movement of the bicycle, and a power module attached to the bicycle. The power module is configured to, in response to an indication of a power demand from a device, close an electrical connector disposed electrically between the charging circuit and power module to enable power transfer therebetween. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The embodiments of the present disclosure are pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. However, other features of the various embodiments will become more apparent and will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  illustrates a bicycle system; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is illustrates a partial perspective view of a charging circuit of the bicycle system; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of the bicycle system; and 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  illustrates a process for controlling power generation and use. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]    As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention. 
         [0013]    Described herein is a power generation system for a vehicle, such as a bicycle or other human-powered vehicle. The system controls a switch connecting a charging circuit to a power module based on a current operational state of the vehicle. For example, the switch may automatically close upon recognizing a braking state or downhill state. The power module may also identify the operation state of the vehicle based on data such as acceleration and pedals-per-minute (PPM). In yet another example, user input may control the switch. When the switch is closed, the charging circuit is active and transmits generated power therein to the power module. The power module may in turn power certain devices in communication with the power module such as vehicle lights, motors, etc. 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  illustrates a bicycle system  100  (also referred to as bicycle  100 ) having a charging circuit  105  arranged at least in part on a frame  110  and two wheels  115  (rear wheel  115   a  and front wheel  115   b ). The system  100  may include a power module  120  which may include a controller  130  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ) having a processor and a memory, as well as a rechargeable power source  125  (as shown in  FIG. 3 ) such as a battery. The power module  120  may be connected to the charging circuit  105  via a wire  140 . The module  120  may be in communication with a vehicle motor  150 . The vehicle motor  150  may be configured to aid the user in driving the bicycle  100  by propelling the pedals  145 , thus driving the chain  155  of the bicycle. While the charging circuit  105  is illustrated as being arranged at the rear wheel  115   a , the charging system may also be arranged at the front wheel  115   b.    
         [0015]    The module  120  may be in communication with a user interface  135 . The user interface  135  may include a mechanical mechanism such as a switch (as shown by way of example in  FIG. 1 .) The switch may be a simple switch having two position (e.g., on/off). The switch may also be a button, or plurality of buttons wherein the actuation of which may communicate user desires and commands to the module  120 . The user interface  135  may also include a display configured to receive inputs or user commands from a user such as a touchscreen. The system  100  may include a docking mechanism (not shown) for a user device  165  such as a smart-phone, tablet, etc. Additional external devices  170  may also be arranged on the bicycle system  100 . These external devices  170  may include one or more after-market device such as GPS units, digital audio plays (e.g., IPOD, etc.), odometers, etc. The external device  170  may be powered by the power module  120 , or by other sources such the device&#39;s internal battery. The external device  170  may connect to the power module  120  via a wire at a port (not shown), such as a USB (universal serial bus) port. The bicycle  100  may also include other safety devices such as a light. Similar to the external device  170 , the light  175  may be powered, at least in part, by the power module  120 . 
         [0016]    The bicycle  100  may also include a brake mechanism  180  that may be used by the user to apply the brakes to the wheels  115 . The brake mechanism  180  may be in communication with the power module  120 , specifically the controller  130 . Upon braking, the charging circuit  105  may be activated so as to enable regenerative braking. This is discussed in more detail below. 
         [0017]    The charging circuit  105  and the power module  120  may be in communication with each other via the wire  140 . The wire  140  may include a switch  205 , such as a transistor, that connects and disconnects the charging circuit  105  to the module  120 . The switch  205  may be controlled by the controller  130 . Additionally or alternatively, the switch  205  may be controlled by the user interface  135  and/or the brake mechanism  180 . In this situation, an actuation at the brake mechanism may cause a deceleration of the bicycle  100  to activate the charging circuit  105 . 
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a partial view of the charging circuit  105  of the system  100 , specifically portion A of  FIG. 1 . The charging circuit  105  may include at least one coil  185  (shown as coils  185 ) within a coil housing  190 . The coils  185  may be arranged on the frame  110  at a position that aligns with the one of the wheels  115 . At least one magnet  195  is arranged on the wheel frame  200 . As a user drives the bicycle  100  by pedaling, the wheels  115  rotate. As the wheels  115  rotate, the magnets  195  align with the coils  185  on the vehicle frame  110 . As the magnets  195  align and pass the coils  185 , a magnetic field is created between the coils  185  and the magnet  195  inducing current through the coils  185 . The wire is connected to the coils the housing  190  and may transmit the current to the power module  120 . 
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of at least a portion of the system including the power module  120  connected to the charging circuit  105 . The power module  120  may also connect with the external device  170 , the user device  165 , the light  175 , motor  150  and the user interface  135 . The power module  120 , as explained, may include the power source  125  and the controller  130  configured to manage the power resources of the module  120 . In one configuration, the controller  130  may open and close a connection or switch  205  between the power module  120  and the charging circuit  105 . It may also be done via other mechanism. For the case of a two-stage toggle switch, the user may manually turn off the switch and thus completely disable the power generation before the ride. The switch  205  between the power module  120  and charging circuit  105  may be opened and closed automatically depending on certain conditions of the system  100 . The switch  205  may also be controlled based on user preference. Examples of the power module control are described below. 
         [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates a process  400  for controlling the power module  120  and more specifically for controlling the connection (e.g., switch  205 ) between the power module  120  and charging circuit  105 . In some examples the switch  205  may be closed based user desire as well as based on power requirements of the devices within or on the bicycle  100  (e.g., blocks  405  and  425 ). In another example, the switch  205  may be closed based on the operational state of the bicycle (e.g., braking, accelerating, etc.) The operational state may be determined by data provided to the controller  130  (e.g., blocks  455  and  475 ). 
         [0021]    The process  400  may begin at block  405  where the controller may determine whether user input has been received that indicates that power is desired. For example, the user may, via the user interface  135 , instruct the power module  120  to receive power from the charge circuit  105 . This may be the case when the user desires the motor  150  to receive electronic power from the power module  120 . In another example, the user may wish to charge his or her mobile device (e.g., user device  165 ). 
         [0022]    The process  400  may proceed to block  410  where the controller  130  may instruct the switch  205  to close. By closing the switch  205 , current from the coils  185  may be transmitted from the charging circuit  105  to the power source  125  via the wire  140 . The power module  120  may store the energy in power source  125 . Any number of devices may then draw from the power source  125 . For example, the motor  150  may draw from the power source  125 , as well as the light  175 . 
         [0023]    At block  415 , the switch  205  remains closed until a user input is received indicating that power is not desired from the power module  120 . 
         [0024]    At block  420 , the controller  130  instructs the switch  205  to open, thus ceasing current flow to the power module  120 . 
         [0025]    At block  435 , the controller  130  may determine whether a device, including the external device  170 , light  175 , motor  150 , or user device  165 , require power. The controller  130  may receive an indication from one of these devices in communication with the power module  120  that the specific device requires power. In one example, the device could have low stored power (e.g., the device&#39;s battery power is low). In another example, the device may be solely powered by the power module  120  and may have recently been connected to the power module  120 . Thus, the controller  130  may recognize that a device requires power either by a device command sent directly from the device (e.g., data indicating low battery) and/or by recognizing a newly added device (e.g. plugging an external device  170  into the power module  120 .) If the controller  130  recognizes such as need for power, the process  400  proceeds to block  440  where the switch  205  is closed until the need is no longer recognized at block  445  (e.g., data indicates that a device&#39;s battery power is no longer low and/or realizes that the external device requiring power has been unplugged from the power module  120 ). 
         [0026]    At block  455 , the controller  130  may determine whether or not the bicycle is braking. This determination may be made upon receiving a signal that the brake mechanism  185  has been actuated. If actuation of the brake mechanism  180  is recognized, the process proceeds to block  460  where the switch  205  is closed until braking ceases at block  465 . 
         [0027]    At block  475 , the controller  130  may determine whether the pedal rotation rate (e.g., pedals per minute (PPM)) have fallen below a predefined rate. The PPM may indicate the state of the vehicle (e.g., traveling uphill, downhill, costing, accelerating, etc.) A low PPM may indicate that the bicycle  100  is traveling downhill or coasting. A low PPM may also be an indicator of braking. In these examples, the power module  120  may close the charging circuit at block  480  in order to take advantage of the regenerative braking. As an example, the threshold rate may be approximately 40 PPM. The charging circuit  105  may remain closed until the PPM exceeds the threshold rate in block  485 . The PPM may be transmitted to the power module  120  from an external device  170  such as an odometer. 
         [0028]    Additionally or alternatively, the power module  120  may receive an acceleration value from the odometer or accelerometer. Acceleration may also indicate the operational state of the bicycle  100 . For example, a high acceleration may indicate downhill travel while a low acceleration may indicate uphill travel. Additional factors and data may also affect a determination with respect to the operational state of the bicycle. For example, both acceleration and pedal rotation rate (e.g., PPM), may be used. In this example, a low PPM with a high acceleration may indicate that the bicycle is traveling downhill or coasting. This would cause the switch  205  to close, as some resistance braking may be necessary. On the other hand, a high PPM and low acceleration, or speed, may indicate that the bicycle is traveling uphill. A high PPM and high acceleration may indicate steady state pedaling. 
         [0029]    Rapid deceleration may also indicate braking. An actuation at the brake mechanism may cause a deceleration of the bike  100  to activate the charging circuit  105 . Although not shown in  FIG. 4 , acceleration may also be used as an indicator to either open or close the switch  205 , similar to PPM. For example, upon recognizing deceleration, the switch  205  may close, enabling the charging circuit  105 . 
         [0030]    Accordingly, the described systems may improve energy efficiency and reduce rolling resistance created by systems such as hub motors and dynamo motors. Further, the moving component (e.g., the wheels) has no mechanical connection with the non-moving component (the bicycle frame), causes little-to-no resistance, as well as eliminating unnecessary wear and tear on the vehicle. By controlling the switch  205  based on the state of the vehicle or user input, the power module may facilitate efficient energy regeneration. 
         [0031]    While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.