Battery Unit and Bicycle Frame

Abstract

A battery unit for a bicycle having an electric motor, including a battery case having an upper side, a lower side and two sidewall several energy cells arranged in the battery case, and a battery management system electrically connected to the energy cells, where the battery management system is arranged on one of the two sides.

Claims

1. A battery unit for a bicycle having an electric motor, comprising a battery case having an upper side, a lower side and two sidewalls, several energy cells arranged in the battery case, and a battery management system electrically connected to the energy cells, wherein the battery management system is arranged on one of the two sidewalls.

2. The battery unit according to claim 1, wherein the battery management system is arranged in the battery case.

3. The battery unit according to claim 1, wherein the battery management system is arranged at one of the two sidewalls in the direction of insertion.

4. The battery unit according to claim 1, wherein the battery case tapers in the direction of insertion.

5. The battery unit according to claim 1, wherein the battery case has a smaller width at a front side than at a rear side.

6. The battery unit according to claim 1, wherein a plug contact is arranged laterally for electrical connection to the electric motor.

7. The battery unit according to claim 1, wherein the energy cells are arranged transversely to a longitudinal direction.

8. A bicycle frame, comprising a motor housing for an electric motor, a down tube connected to the motor housing, an insertion opening provided in the down tube in the area of the motor housing for inserting a battery into the down tube, wherein the down tube is asymmetrical with respect to a frame center plane.

9. The bicycle frame according to claim 8, wherein the down tube tapers from the motor housing.

11. The bicycle frame according to claim 9, wherein the down tube tapers less on a chain ring side, with respect to a frame center plane than on a side facing away from the chain ring.

12. The bicycle frame according to claim 8, wherein the down tube is parallel to a frame center plane on a chain ring side.

13. The bicycle frame according to claim 8, wherein the side of the down tube facing away from a chain ring has a decreasing distance towards a frame center plane, starting from the motor housing.

14. The bicycle frame according to claim 8, wherein the motor housing is asymmetrical with respect to a frame center plane.

15. The bicycle frame according to claim 13, wherein the motor housing is asymmetrical to the same side as the down tube.

16. The bicycle frame according to claim 8, wherein the down tube in side view has a height of less than 80 mm in side view.

17. The battery unit according to claim 16, wherein the battery management system is arranged on a side facing away from a chain ring.

18. The battery unit according to claim 6, wherein a plug contact is arranged laterally for electrical connection to the electric motor as part of the battery management system.

19. The battery unit according to claim 1, wherein the battery case tapers in the direction of insertion and comprises a step.

20. The bicycle frame according to claim 8, wherein the down tube in side view has a height less than 75 mm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] In the following, the disclosure is described in more detail by means of a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

[0025] FIG. 1 shows a schematic plan view of a battery,

[0026] FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of the battery unit, wherein it is a horizontal section in longitudinal direction of the battery unit,

[0027] FIG. 3 shows a schematic side view of a frame,

[0028] FIG. 4 shows a schematic plan view of the bicycle frame shown in FIG. 3,

[0029] FIG. 5 shows a schematic sectional view of the down tube with inserted battery unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The battery unit has a housing 10. With respect to a longitudinal direction or a direction of travel 12, the housing 10 has a left sidewall 14 and an opposite right sidewall 16. The battery case further has an upper side 18 and a lower side opposite to the upper side 18. The case, which substantially has a rectangular cross-section in the illustrated exemplary embodiment, also has a front side 20 facing in the direction of travel 12 and a rear side 22 facing in the opposite direction to the direction of travel 12. A fastening or contact element is arranged on the upper side 12 in the front area, facing the front side 20, which rests against an inner side of the down tube of the bicycle frame when the battery unit is mounted. A further retaining element 26, which in particular has a passage opening extending transversely to the longitudinal direction 12, is arranged at the rear side 22 and serves to fix the battery unit in the down tube.

[0031] On the side facing away from the chain ring or on the left side 12, the battery case 10 has a substantially cuboid indentation 28. The cuboid indentation 28 preferably extends across the entire height of the case or the side wall 14, respectively. In longitudinal direction 12, the indentation 28 extends across approximately 30-50% of the total length of the battery case depending of the embodiment. Preferably, at least a majority of a battery management system 30 (FIG. 2) is arranged in the lug 28.

[0032] The sidewall 14 has a step 32 in longitudinal direction 12. In the area of the step 32, the width of the battery case 10 decreases. Thus, a battery case 10 is created that, with respect to a direction of insertion 12, has a smaller cross-sectional dimension in a front area that in a rear area. With respect to a center plane 34 perpendicular to a drawing plane of FIG. 1, the battery case 10 is symmetric in the area in which no lug 28 is provided and correspondingly asymmetrical in the area of the lug 28.

[0033] The battery management system 30 comprises a plug contact 36 or is connected thereto, respectively. The plug contact faces towards the sidewall 14 so that the plug is usually inserted into the plug contact 36 in the direction of an arrow 38, i.e. perpendicular to the longitudinal direction 12.

[0034] The individual energy cells 40 that are arranged within the battery case 10 are preferably arranged such that they are arranged transversely to the longitudinal direction 12.

[0035] The bicycle frame according to the disclosure has a down tube 42 which is connected to a motor housing 44. Here, the down tube 42 is connected to the motor housing 44 such that a lower end of the down tube 42 is arranged below the motor housing 44 or a lower insertion opening 46 is accessible for inserting a battery device into the down tube 42. On the opposite side, the down tube 42 is connected to a head tube 48. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the motor housing 44 is further connected to a saddle tube 50. The saddle tube 50 is then connected to a top tube 52 that is also connected to the head tube 48. In a preferred embodiment, the bicycle frame is made of a glass fiber reinforced material, in particular carbon.

[0036] In the side view shown in FIG. 3, the down tube 42 has a small height H of in particular <80 mm, compared to known bicycle frames in whose down tube a battery device can be arranged. It is particularly preferred that the height H is <75 mm, in particular <70 mm.

[0037] With respect to a frame center plane 52 (FIG. 4), the down tube 42 is formed asymmetrical. The frame center plane 52 extends through the center of the head tube 48 and through the center of the saddle tube 50. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the top tube 52 is also symmetrical to the frame center plane 54. In the direction of travel 12, the cross-section and the width of the top tube 52 increases, in particular continuously, from the saddle tube 50 towards the head tube 48.

[0038] The motor housing 44 is also formed asymmetrically with respect to the frame center plane. The motor housing 44 protrudes on the left side in the direction of travel 12 or on the side 56 facing away from the chain ring, respectively. Thus, the distance is larger from an outer side of the motor 44 to the frame center line 54 than on the chain ring side 58.

[0039] The down tube 42 is also asymmetrical toward the side 56 facing away from the chain ring, so that also with respect to the down tube, the distance between an outer side of the down tube to the frame center plane 54 is greater on the side 56 facing away from the chain ring than on the chain ring side 58. In particular, there is a stepless transition between the motor housing 44 and the down tube 42. The width of the down tube in plan view (FIG. 4) tapers, i.e. it decreases from the motor housing 44 towards the head tube 48. The left side 60 of the down tube 42 in the direction of travel 12 is thus inclined towards the frame center plane 54 or has an acute angle thereto, respectively.

[0040] In a preferred embodiment the opposite right side or the chain ring side 62 of the down tube 42 is parallel to the frame center plane 54. As can be seen in particular from the schematic longitudinal section of the down tube 42 with inserted battery 40 (FIG. 5), the down tube 42 tapers in the direction of travel 12. Here, in the illustrated exemplary embodiment, a right side 62 of the down tube 42 facing in the direction of travel is parallel to the direction of travel 12. The opposite side 60 of the down tube 42, with respect to the frame center plane 54 or with respect to the direction of travel 12, extends so as to converge with the opposite sidewall 62. Thus, the distance between the two sidewall 60, 62 of the down tube 42 decreases in the direction of travel 12.