阅读说明：本技术 电动自行车和整体厨房 (Electric bicycle and integrated kitchen ) 是由 吉泽仁 桥本一辉 内田嵩 于 2019-03-11 设计创作，主要内容包括：电动自行车(10)具备：电动马达(20)；存储部(31),其存储有电动马达(20)的控制软件；控制部(32),其执行被存储在存储部(31)中的控制软件；以及通信连接部(33),其硬件(60)能够以装卸自如的方式与该通信连接部(33)进行通信连接。控制部(32)通过执行被安装在存储部(31)中的除控制软件以外的其它软件,来控制与通信连接部(33)进行了通信连接的硬件(60)。控制软件和其它软件分别使用分布式通信协议进行通信。(An electric bicycle (10) is provided with: an electric motor (20); a storage unit (31) in which control software for the electric motor (20) is stored; a control unit (32) that executes control software stored in the storage unit (31); and a communication connection unit (33) to which a hardware (60) can be detachably connected for communication. The control unit (32) controls hardware (60) that is communicatively connected to the communication connection unit (33) by executing software other than control software installed in the storage unit (31). The control software and other software each communicate using a distributed communication protocol.)

1. An electric bicycle is provided with:

an electric motor;

a storage unit in which control software for the electric motor is stored;

a control unit that executes the control software stored in the storage unit; and

a communication connection unit to which hardware can be connected in a detachable manner,

wherein the control section controls the hardware communicatively connected to the communication connection section by executing software other than the control software installed in the storage section,

the control software and the other software each communicate using a distributed communication protocol.

2. The electric bicycle according to claim 1,

an operating system is stored in the storage section,

the control software and the other software belong to an application layer.

3. The electric bicycle according to claim 1 or 2,

the storage unit stores a Robot Operating System (ROS) including the distributed communication protocol,

the ROS belongs to the middleware layer.

4. The electric bicycle according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the control unit causes the electric motor to cooperate with the hardware communicatively connected to the communication connection unit by executing the control software and the other software.

5. The electric bicycle according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the control software is black boxed.

6. The electric bicycle according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the electric bicycle further includes a battery for supplying electric power to the electric motor,

the hardware that is communicatively connected to the communication connection unit operates using power supplied from the battery.

7. An integrated kitchen includes:

a heater for cooking;

a storage unit in which control software for the heater is stored;

a control unit that executes the control software stored in the storage unit; and

a communication connection unit to which hardware can be connected in a detachable manner,

wherein the control section controls the hardware communicatively connected to the communication connection section by executing software other than the control software installed in the storage section,

the control software and the other software each communicate using a distributed communication protocol.

Technical Field

The invention relates to an electric bicycle and an integrated kitchen.

Background

Conventionally, there is known an electric bicycle that can easily travel by adding an auxiliary driving force generated by an electric motor to a manual driving force such as a pedaling force on pedals. Patent document 1 discloses an electric bicycle provided with a vehicle speed sensor.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The invention provides an electric bicycle and an integrated kitchen which are easy to add and expand functions.

Means for solving the problems

An electric bicycle according to an aspect of the present invention includes: an electric motor; a storage unit in which control software for the electric motor is stored; a control unit that executes the control software stored in the storage unit; and a communication connection unit to which hardware is detachably connected for communication, wherein the control unit controls the hardware that is connected for communication with the communication connection unit by executing software other than the control software installed in the storage unit, and the control software and the software communicate with each other using a distributed communication protocol.

An integrated kitchen according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a heater for cooking; a storage unit in which control software for the heater is stored; a control unit that executes the control software stored in the storage unit; and a communication connection unit to which hardware is detachably connected for communication, wherein the control unit controls the hardware that is connected for communication with the communication connection unit by executing software other than the control software installed in the storage unit, and the control software and the software communicate with each other using a distributed communication protocol.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, an electric bicycle and an integrated kitchen that are easy to add and expand functions are realized.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an external view of an electric bicycle according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the electric bicycle according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the hierarchical structure of software stored in the storage unit in embodiment 1.

Fig. 4 is an external view of the integrated kitchen according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the integrated kitchen according to embodiment 2.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the hierarchical structure of software stored in the storage unit in embodiment 2.

Detailed Description

The embodiments are described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are all illustrative or specific examples. The numerical values, shapes, materials, constituent elements, arrangement positions and connection modes of the constituent elements, steps, order of the steps, and the like shown in the following embodiments are examples, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Among the components of the following embodiments, those not recited in the independent claims indicating the uppermost concept will be described as arbitrary components.

The drawings are schematic and are not necessarily strictly illustrated. In the drawings, substantially the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description may be omitted or simplified.

(embodiment mode 1)

[ Structure of electric bicycle ]

First, the structure of the electric bicycle according to embodiment 1 will be explained. Fig. 1 is an external view of an electric bicycle according to embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the electric bicycle according to embodiment 1.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the electric bicycle 10 includes: vehicle body 11, front wheel 12, rear wheel 13, pedals 17, electric motor 20 attached to vehicle body 11, control device 30 for controlling electric motor 20, pedal force sensor 40, and battery 50.

The electric bicycle 10 is a so-called electric assist bicycle. The electric motor 20 provided in the electric bicycle 10 can assist the forward movement of the vehicle body 11 based on the pedaling force applied to the pedals 17. The electric motor 20 is driven by electric power supplied from the battery 50 under the control of the control device 30. Software for controlling the electric motor 20 is stored in advance in the storage unit 31 of the control device 30.

In addition, the electric bicycle 10 is programmable. Programmable means that hardware and software can be added and deleted freely. For example, hardware 60 such as a camera 61, a Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging 62, an acceleration sensor 63, an angular velocity sensor 64, a geomagnetic sensor 65, and a smartphone 66 are detachably connected to the communication connection unit 33 of the electric bicycle 10. Software for controlling these hardware units 60 can be installed in the storage unit 31 of the control device 30.

[ Structure of control device ]

Next, the functional configuration of the control device 30 provided in the electric bicycle 10 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 2. As shown in fig. 2, the control device 30 includes a storage unit 31, a control unit 32, and a communication connection unit 33.

The storage unit 31 stores control software 70 for the electric motor 20 in advance. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the hierarchical structure of software stored in the storage unit 31. Further, software other than the control software 70 may be installed in the storage unit 31 later. In the example of fig. 3, for example, a person recognition software 71 for performing person recognition using the camera 61 and a cooperation software 72 for controlling the electric motor 20 based on the result of the person recognition are installed. Specifically, the storage unit 31 is realized by a semiconductor memory or the like. Further, for example, the software is installed via the communication connection unit 33, but the software may be installed by another method.

The control unit 32 assists the forward movement of the vehicle body 11 by executing the control software 70 stored in the storage unit 31. The control unit 32 is realized by a processor, for example, but may be realized by a microcomputer. The control unit 32 may be implemented by an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array).

Specifically, the control unit 32 determines the magnitude of the assisting force (in other words, the assisting driving force) generated by the electric motor 20 based on the stepping force on the pedals 17 and the speed of the electric bicycle 10. The depression force on the pedal 17 is obtained from the depression force sensor 40. The pedal force sensor 40 is, for example, a magnetostrictive torque sensor. The speed of the electric bicycle 10 is calculated based on the number of revolutions per unit time of the rear wheel 13 (or the front wheel 12) and the size of the rear wheel 13 (or the front wheel 12). The speed of the electric bicycle 10 is measured by a sensor such as a hall IC attached to the rear wheel (or the front wheel 12), for example, but the method of detecting the speed of the electric bicycle 10 is not particularly limited.

The hardware 60 is connected to the communication connection unit 33 in a detachable manner. The state in which the communication connection is made means, for example, a state in which an electric signal can be transmitted and received between the control device 30 and the hardware 60. The communication connection unit 33 is, for example, a wireless communication circuit, and is connected to hardware 60 such as a camera 61 by pairing the wireless communication circuit. The communication connection unit 33 may be a wired communication circuit and connected to hardware for wired communication. In this case, the electric bicycle 10 (e.g., the control device 30) has a connector configuration that is inserted into a cable for connecting the hardware 60 with the wired communication circuit.

[ hierarchical Structure of software ]

Next, the hierarchical structure of the software stored in the storage unit 31 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 3.

The storage unit 31 stores an operating system 73. The operating system 73 is software for performing basic control in the control device 30, and provides a standard interface to software belonging to an application layer, such as the control software 70, the human recognition software 71, and the cooperation software 72. The operating system 73 is, for example, Linux (registered trademark), but is not particularly limited.

Further, the storage unit 31 stores a distributed communication protocol 74. The distributed communication protocol 74 is, for example, a communication protocol included in an ROS (Robot Operating System), but may be another distributed communication protocol.

In the communication protocol contained in the ROS, software belonging to the application layer is treated as a node. In the example of fig. 3, the control software 70, the human recognition software 71, and the cooperation software 72 of the electric motor 20 correspond to nodes.

In the communication protocol included in the ROS, the nodes are connected by a data bus (in other words, a transmission path). The node on the transmitting side outputs information to the data bus, and the node on the receiving side picks up information from the data bus only in the case where the node itself needs the information. In such a communication protocol, when some nodes are disconnected, the influence on other nodes is small, and therefore the other nodes can continue communication as they are. In addition, even when some of the nodes are added, the other nodes can continue communication as they are. That is, in the control device 30 provided in the electric bicycle 10, software belonging to the application layer is freely added and deleted by the distributed communication protocol 74. The distributed communication protocol 74 is also used for communication between the operating system 73 and the nodes.

Further, in fig. 3, the operating system 73 is not essential. In the control device 30 provided in the electric bicycle 10, the software in the application layer may communicate with each other using the distributed communication protocol 74.

In addition, in the electric bicycle 10, the control software 70 is software necessary for implementing the auxiliary functions of the electric bicycle 10, and should not be deleted or changed by a general user. Thus, the control software 70 is blackboxed. Black-boxed means that the average user has no access. The control software 70 is, for example, blackboxed by being stored in a region logically different from other software in the storage unit 31, but may be blackboxed by being stored in a storage unit different from the storage unit 31 in terms of hardware. Further, the control software 70 may be protected by encryption or the like.

[ use example ]

Next, a use example of the electric bicycle 10 will be explained. An example in which the camera 61 is added will be described below, but the same applies to the case in which other hardware 60 is added.

For example, a general user purchases the camera 61 in addition to the electric bicycle 10, and communicatively connects the camera 61 to the communication connection unit 33 of the electric bicycle 10. The person recognition software 71 is acquired from the open source software and installed in the storage unit 31. As a result, the control unit 32 of the electric bicycle 10 can control the camera 61 communicatively connected to the communication connection unit 33 to perform the person recognition processing by executing the person recognition software 71 installed in the storage unit 31.

Thus, the general user can freely add a function to the electric bicycle 10 by means of DIY (Do It Yourself).

In addition, the developer of the electric bicycle 10 develops the cooperation software 72 for controlling the electric motor 20 by the human recognition process based on the human recognition software 71. The developer develops, for example, one of the following pieces of collaboration software 72: when the image captured by the camera 61 includes a predetermined number of people or more (that is, when the periphery of the electric bicycle 10 is full of people), the assist force is restricted. The developer communicatively connects the camera 61 to the communication connection portion 33 of the electric bicycle 10. In addition, the developer installs the person recognition software 71 and the cooperation software 72 in the storage unit 31. As a result, the control unit 32 can cause the electric motor 20 to cooperate with the camera 61 communicatively connected to the communication connection unit 33 by executing the control software 70, the person recognition software 71, and the cooperation software 72. At this time, the control software 70, the person recognition software 71, and the cooperation software 72 mutually transmit and receive information (i.e., digital values) in accordance with the distributed communication protocol 74. When the electric motor 20 is caused to cooperate with other hardware, at least two pieces of software, i.e., the control software 70 and the cooperation software 72, may be used.

In this way, the developer can easily take measures such as modifying the cooperation software 72 while observing the actual operation of the electric bicycle 10. That is, if the electric bicycle 10 is programmed, the developer can quickly implement the idea. Thus, the development time can be shortened.

[ modified examples ]

The hardware 60 communicatively connected to the communication connection unit 33 operates using, for example, a battery or the like provided in the hardware 60 as a power source, but may operate using power supplied from the battery 50 that supplies power to the electric motor 20. The battery 50 is a secondary battery (in other words, a storage battery) such as a lithium ion battery, for example.

In the case where the hardware 60 and the communication connection portion 33 are connected by a cable, if a terminal for power supply is included in the plurality of terminals provided in the connector structure and an electric wire for power supply is included in the cable, the hardware 60 can receive supply of electric power from the battery 50.

When the hardware 60 is wirelessly connected to the communication connection unit 33, non-contact power supply is performed. The non-contact power supply system is a radio wave system, a magnetic resonance system, or an electromagnetic induction system. In the case of performing radio-wave contactless power supply, the hardware 60 includes an antenna element for power reception, and the control device 30 includes an antenna element for power supply. In the case of performing non-contact power supply by a magnetic resonance method or an electromagnetic induction method, the hardware 60 includes a coil element for receiving power, and the control device 30 includes a coil element for supplying power.

[ Effect and the like ]

As described above, the electric bicycle 10 includes: an electric motor 20; a storage unit 31 in which control software 70 for the electric motor 20 is stored; a control unit 32 that executes control software 70 stored in the storage unit 31; and a communication connection unit 33 that is detachably connected to the hardware 60 for communication. The control unit 32 controls the hardware 60 communicatively connected to the communication connection unit 33 by executing software other than the control software 70 installed in the storage unit 31. The control software 70 and other software communicate using a distributed communication protocol 74, respectively.

This realizes the electric bicycle 10 that can be easily added or expanded.

In addition, for example, the storage unit 31 stores an operating system 73, and the control software 70 and other software belong to an application layer.

Thus, the control unit 32 can control the electric motor 20 and the hardware 60 by executing the operation system 73.

In addition, for example, the storage unit 31 stores an ROS including the distributed communication protocol 74, and the ROS belongs to the middleware layer.

Thus, the control unit 32 realizes the electric bicycle 10 that is easy to add or expand functions by the communication protocol of the ROS.

For example, the control unit 32 executes the control software 70 and other software (for example, cooperation software 72) to cooperate the electric motor 20 with the hardware 60 communicatively connected to the communication connection unit 33.

Thus, the control unit 32 can expand the functions of the electric motor 20 by cooperating the electric motor 20 with the hardware 60.

In addition, for example, the control software 70 is blackboxed.

This can prevent the control software 70 from being changed or lost.

The electric bicycle 10 further includes a battery 50 for supplying electric power to the electric motor 20, for example. The hardware 60 communicatively connected to the communication connection unit 33 operates using the power supplied from the battery 50.

The electric bicycle 10 can supply power to the hardware 60 using the battery 50 that supplies power to the electric motor 20.

(embodiment mode 2)

[ Structure of Integrated kitchen ]

The device to be programmed is not limited to the electric bicycle 10. For example, the entire kitchen may be programmable. Next, the structure of the integrated kitchen according to embodiment 2 will be described. Fig. 4 is an external view of the integrated kitchen according to embodiment 2. Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the integrated kitchen according to embodiment 2. In embodiment 2 below, descriptions of items that have already appeared are omitted or simplified, and differences from embodiment 1 will be mainly described.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the integrated kitchen 110 includes a cooking heater 120 and a controller 130 for controlling the heater 120.

The integrated kitchen 110 is a unit used in cooking. The heater 120 is a so-called IH (induction heating) cooking heater, and heats a metal container in which food materials to be cooked are put. In other words, heater 120 is an electromagnetic cooker, and control device 130 controls heater 120 based on an operation by a user. Software for controlling the heater 120 is stored in advance in the storage unit 131 of the control device 130.

The integrated galley 110 is programmable. For example, the hardware 60 such as the camera 61, the robot 67, and the smartphone 66 is detachably connected to the communication connection unit 133 of the integrated kitchen 110. Software for controlling these hardware units 60 can be installed in the storage unit 131 of the control device 130.

[ Structure of control device ]

Next, the functional configuration of the control device 30 provided in the integrated kitchen 110 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 5. As shown in fig. 5, the control device 130 includes a storage unit 131, a control unit 132, a communication connection unit 133, and an operation receiving unit 134.

The storage unit 131 stores control software 75 for the heater 120 in advance. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the hierarchical structure of software stored in the storage section 131. Further, software other than the control software 75 may be installed in the storage unit 131 later. In the example of fig. 6, for example, image recognition software 76 for performing image recognition using the camera 61 and cooperation software 77 for controlling the heater 120 based on the result of the image recognition are stored. Specifically, the storage section 131 is implemented by a semiconductor memory or the like.

The control unit 132 controls the heater 120 by executing the control software 75 stored in the storage unit 131 based on the user's operation accepted by the operation accepting unit 134. The control unit 132 is realized by a processor, for example, but may be realized by a microcomputer. The control unit 132 may be implemented by an FPGA.

The hardware 60 is detachably connected to the communication connection unit 133 for communication. The communication connection unit 133 is, for example, a wireless communication circuit, and is connected to the hardware 60 such as the camera 61 by pairing the wireless communication circuit. The communication connection unit 133 may be a wired communication circuit and may be connected to the hardware for wired communication, and in this case, the integrated kitchen 110 (for example, the control device 130) may have a connector structure into which a cable for connecting the hardware 60 to the wired communication circuit is inserted.

The operation receiving unit 134 is a user interface that a user operates to cook using the heater 120. The operation receiving unit 134 is implemented by a touch panel, a hardware key (hardware button), or the like.

[ hierarchical Structure of software ]

Next, the hierarchical structure of the software stored in the storage unit 131 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 6.

The storage unit 131 stores an operating system 73. Further, the storage unit 131 stores the distributed communication protocol 74. The distributed communication protocol 74 is, for example, a communication protocol contained in the ROS, but may be another distributed communication protocol. The control device 130 provided in the integrated kitchen 110 freely adds and deletes software belonging to the application layer by the distributed communication protocol 74.

Further, in fig. 6, the operating system 73 is not essential. The control device 130 included in the integrated kitchen 110 may perform communication using the distributed communication protocol 74 between software in the application layer.

In addition, in the integrated kitchen 110, the control software 75 is software necessary for realizing the control function of the heater 120 of the integrated kitchen 110, and should not be deleted or changed by a general user. Thus, the control software 75 is blackboxed.

[ use example ]

Next, a use example of the entire kitchen 110 will be described. An example in which the camera 61 is added will be described below, but the same applies to the case in which other hardware 60 is added.

For example, a general user purchases the camera 61 in addition to the integrated kitchen 110, and connects the camera 61 to the communication connection unit 133 of the integrated kitchen 110 in a communication manner. The image recognition software 76 is acquired from the open source software and installed in the storage unit 131. As a result, the control unit 132 of the integrated kitchen 110 can control the camera 61 communicatively connected to the communication connection unit 133 to perform image recognition processing by executing the image recognition software 76 installed in the storage unit 131.

In this way, a general user can freely add a function to the entire kitchen 110 by the DIY method.

In addition, the developer of the integrated kitchen 110 develops the cooperation software 77 for controlling the heater 120 by the image recognition processing by the image recognition software 76. For example, the developer develops the following one of the collaboration software 77: when it is determined that the cooking being cooked by the heater 120 is bubbling by image recognition of the image captured by the camera 61, the temperature of the heater 120 is lowered. The developer connects the camera 61 to the communication connection unit 133 of the integrated kitchen 110 in a communication manner, and installs the image recognition software 76 and the cooperation software 77 in the storage unit 131. As a result, the control unit 132 can cause the heater 120 to cooperate with the camera 61 communicatively connected to the communication connection unit 133 by executing the control software 75, the image recognition software 76, and the cooperation software 77. At this time, the control software 75, the image recognition software 76, and the cooperation software 77 mutually transmit and receive information (i.e., digital values) in accordance with the distributed communication protocol 74. When the heater 120 is caused to cooperate with other hardware, at least two pieces of software, i.e., the control software 75 and the cooperation software 77, may be used.

In this way, the developer can easily perform measures such as modifying the collaboration software 77 while observing the actual operation of the entire kitchen 110. That is, if the integrated kitchen 110 is programmable, the developer can quickly implement the idea. Therefore, the development time can be shortened.

[ modified examples ]

The hardware 60 communicatively connected to the communication connection unit 133 operates using, for example, a battery or the like provided in the hardware 60 as a power source, but may operate using power supplied from the integrated kitchen 110. The power supply may be performed in a wired manner or in a non-contact manner.

[ Effect and the like ]

As described above, the integrated kitchen 110 includes: a heater 120 for cooking; a storage unit 131 in which control software 75 for the heater 120 is stored; a control unit 132 that executes control software stored in the storage unit 131; and a communication connection unit 133 that can be detachably connected to hardware for communication. The control unit 132 controls the hardware 60 communicatively connected to the communication connection unit 133 by executing software other than the control software 75 installed in the storage unit 131. The control software 75 and other software communicate using the distributed communication protocol 74, respectively.

This realizes the integrated kitchen 110 in which functions can be easily added or expanded.

(other embodiments)

The embodiments have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments.

For example, in the above-described embodiments, the electric bicycle and the integrated kitchen that are programmable have been described, but the present invention may be implemented as other programmable devices or systems. For example, the invention may also be implemented as a programmable toilet system.

The whole or specific aspects of the present invention can be realized by a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM. The whole or specific aspects of the present invention can be realized by any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium. For example, the present invention can also be implemented as a control method of an electric bicycle or an integrated kitchen.

In addition, the present invention includes an embodiment obtained by applying various modifications to the respective embodiments as will occur to those skilled in the art, or an embodiment obtained by arbitrarily combining the constituent elements and functions of the respective embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Description of the reference numerals

10: an electric bicycle; 20: an electric motor; 30. 130, 130: a control device; 31. 131: a storage unit; 32. 132: a control unit; 33. 133: a communication connection section; 60: hardware; 70. 75: control software; 72. 77: collaboration software (other software); 74: a distributed communication protocol; 110: an integrated kitchen; 120: a heater.