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EP-4737291-A1 - STATE ESTIMATING SYSTEM AND STATE ESTIMATING METHOD

EP4737291A1EP 4737291 A1EP4737291 A1EP 4737291A1EP-4737291-A1

Abstract

A state estimating system (1) includes an obtainer (41) and an estimator (42). The obtainer (41) obtains power information about power consumed by an electric bicycle (2). The estimator (42) estimates a state of the electric bicycle (2) based on the power information obtained by the obtainer (41). When the electric bicycle (2) is determined to be in an abnormal state, the estimator (42) outputs abnormal state information indicating that the electric bicycle (2) has an abnormality. When the electric bicycle (2) is determined to be in a normal state, the estimator (42) outputs normal state information indicating that the electric bicycle (2) has no abnormality.

Inventors

  • KANAMORI, Keita
  • YOSHIZAWA, Jin

Assignees

  • Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240606

Claims (9)

  1. A state estimating system comprising: an obtainer that obtains power information about power consumed by an electric bicycle; and an estimator that estimates a state of the electric bicycle based on the power information obtained by the obtainer, wherein the estimator: outputs, when the electric bicycle is determined to be in an abnormal state, abnormal state information indicating that the electric bicycle has an abnormality, and outputs, when the electric bicycle is determined to be in a normal state, normal state information indicating that the electric bicycle has no abnormality.
  2. The state estimating system according to claim 1, wherein the electric bicycle includes a wheel including a tire for the electric bicycle to travel, and the estimator estimates an air pressure of the tire as the state of the electric bicycle.
  3. The state estimating system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the obtainer obtains the power information by detecting at least one of a voltage applied to a battery included in the electric bicycle or a current flowing through the battery.
  4. The state estimating system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the obtainer obtains the power information by detecting at least one of a voltage applied to an electric motor included in the electric bicycle, a current flowing through the electric motor, a voltage applied to a circuit board on which a circuit for driving the electric motor is mounted, or a current flowing through the circuit board.
  5. The state estimating system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the estimator estimates, as the state of the electric bicycle, a state of a component included in a drive mechanism that drives the wheel of the electric bicycle.
  6. The state estimating system according to claim 5, wherein the component included in the drive mechanism includes at least one of a frame, a chain, a gear, a spoke, an electric motor, or a sprocket of the electric bicycle.
  7. The state estimating system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the obtainer further obtains driving information about at least one of a speed of the electric bicycle, an acceleration of the electric bicycle, an angular velocity of the electric bicycle, a gradient of a road surface on which the electric bicycle is traveling, torque applied to a pedal of the electric bicycle, a cadence of the pedal, torque of an electric motor included in the electric bicycle, or a rotational speed of the electric motor, and the estimator estimates the state of the electric bicycle also based on the driving information obtained by the obtainer.
  8. The state estimating system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: an informer that informs an external device about at least one of the abnormal state information or the normal state information outputted by the estimator.
  9. A state estimating method comprising: obtaining power information about power consumed by an electric bicycle; and estimating a state of the electric bicycle based on the power information obtained, wherein when the electric bicycle is determined to be in an abnormal state, abnormal state information indicating that the electric bicycle has an abnormality is outputted, and when the electric bicycle is determined to be in a normal state, normal state information indicating that the electric bicycle has no abnormality is outputted.

Description

[Technical Field] The present disclosure relates to a state estimating system and a state estimating method for estimating a state of an electric bicycle. [Background Art] Patent Literature (PTL) 1 discloses a power assisted bicycle. The power assisted bicycle includes a front wheel air pressure sensor and a rear wheel air pressure sensor. The front wheel air pressure sensor detects an air pressure of a front wheel and outputs, to a controller, an air pressure signal indicating the detected air pressure. The rear wheel air pressure sensor detects an air pressure of a rear wheel and outputs, to the controller, an air pressure signal indicating the detected air pressure. The controller generates tire state information indicating states of the front wheel and the rear wheel based on the air pressure signals outputted from the front wheel air pressure sensor and the rear wheel air pressure sensor. [Citation List] [Patent Literature] [PTL 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-083529 [Summary of Invention] [Technical Problem] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a state estimating system and a state estimating method capable of easily eliminating the need for a sensor for directly detecting a state of an electric bicycle. [Solution to Problem] In order to achieve the above object, a state estimating system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an obtainer and an estimator. The obtainer obtains power information about power consumed by an electric bicycle. The estimator estimates a state of the electric bicycle based on the power information obtained by the obtainer. When the electric bicycle is determined to be in an abnormal state, the estimator outputs abnormal state information indicating that the electric bicycle has an abnormality. When the electric bicycle is determined to be in a normal state, the estimator outputs normal state information indicating that the electric bicycle has no abnormality. A state estimating method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: obtaining power information about power consumed by an electric bicycle; and estimating a state of the electric bicycle based on the power information obtained. In the state estimating method, when the electric bicycle is determined to be in an abnormal state, abnormal state information indicating that the electric bicycle has an abnormality is outputted. When the electric bicycle is determined to be in a normal state, normal state information indicating that the electric bicycle has no abnormality is outputted. [Advantageous Effects of Invention] The state estimating system, etc., according to the present disclosure provide an advantage of being able to easily eliminate the need for the sensor for directly detecting the state of the electric bicycle. [Brief Description of Drawings] [FIG. 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a vehicle sharing system according to an embodiment.[FIG. 2] FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating an electric bicycle according to the embodiment.[FIG. 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the electric bicycle according to the embodiment.[FIG. 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of operations of a state estimating system according to the embodiment. [Description of Embodiments] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below in detail using the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below shows a specific example of the present disclosure. Thus, the numerical values, shapes, materials, elements, the arrangement and connection of the elements, steps, the processing order of the steps, etc. shown in the following embodiment are mere examples, and therefore do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Among the elements in the following embodiment, those not recited in any one of the independent claims are therefore described as optional elements. Each of the figures is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily drawn in a strict sense. Therefore, the scale, for example, is not necessarily the same in these figures. In addition, substantially the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numeral throughout the figures, and redundant descriptions will be omitted or simplified. A state estimating system and a state estimating method according to an embodiment will be described below. [Embodiment] (Configuration) A configuration of vehicle sharing system 100 will be described first with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating vehicle sharing system 100 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in vehicle sharing system 100, a service provider that provides, for example, vehicle rental services can, for example, rent a vehicle to a user who wishes to use the vehicle. Vehicle sharing system 100 manages, for example, states of vehicles, specifications, vehicle types, and product numbers. In addition, when renting a vehicle to a user, vehicle sharing system 100 manages, for