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EP-4741266-A2 - POWER ON PAIRING FOR ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS OF A BICYCLE

EP4741266A2EP 4741266 A2EP4741266 A2EP 4741266A2EP-4741266-A2

Abstract

An electronic component for a bicycle includes a communication interface and a processor in communication with the communication interface. The processor is configured to identify a first power on time. The first power on time identifies a time at which the electronic component was powered on by a power source of the bicycle. The processor is configured to listen for one or more messages after the electronic component is powered on and receive, via the communication interface, a message of the one or more messages. The received message is from another electronic component of the bicycle and identifies a second power on time. The second power on time is for the other electronic component. The processor is configured to compare the second power on time to the first power on time and initiate, based on the comparison, pairing of the other electronic component with the electronic component.

Inventors

  • Sessions, Shelby
  • HAHN, SAGE
  • Veeh, Joachim

Assignees

  • SRAM, LLC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20231129

Claims (18)

  1. A power source (142) for a bicycle (100), the power source (142) comprising: a housing (162); output terminals (166) supported by the housing (162); a sensor (160) supported by the housing (162), the sensor (160) being configured to detect a matching component on an electric drive unit of the bicycle (100); and a processor of the power source (404) in communication with the sensor (160), the processor of the power source (404) being configured to enable the output terminals (166) after the sensor (160) detects the matching component on the electric drive unit, such that a voltage at the output terminals (166) is a portion of a discharge voltage of the power source (142), wherein a processor of the electric drive unit is powerable by the portion of the discharge voltage of the power source (142), but the electric drive unit is not powerable by the portion of the discharge voltage of the power source (142).
  2. The power source (142) of claim 1, wherein the matching component is a passive component.
  3. The power source (142) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor of the power source (404) is further configured to determine an enablement time and initiate, based on the determined enablement time, a pairing of the electric drive unit with the power source (142).
  4. The power source (142) of claim 3, wherein after the initiation of the pairing of the electric drive unit with the power source (142), the processor of the power source (404) is further configured to increase the voltage at the output terminals (166), such that the electric drive unit is powerable by the power source (142).
  5. The power source (142) of claim 3 or 4, wherein the processor of the power source (404) is further configured to: receive a power on time from the electric drive unit; and compare the received power on time to the determined enablement time, and wherein the initiation, based on the determined enablement time, of the pairing of the electric drive unit with the power source (142) comprises initiation, based on the comparison, of the pairing of the electric drive unit with the power source (142).
  6. The power source (142) of claim 5, wherein the comparison of the received power on time to the determined enablement time comprises: determination of a time difference between the received power on time and the determined enablement time; and comparison of the determined time difference to a predetermined threshold time difference, and wherein the initiation, based on the comparison, of the pairing of the electric drive unit with the power source (142) comprises initiation of the pairing of the electric drive unit with the power source (142) when, based on the comparison, the determined time difference is less than the predetermined threshold time difference.
  7. The power source (142) of one of the preceding claims, wherein the processor of the power source (404) is further configured to: identify an electronic component paired with the electric drive unit; and transmit a pairing request to the electronic component paired with the electric drive unit.
  8. The power source (142) of one of the preceding claims, wherein the sensor (160) includes a reed switch, a Hall effect sensor, a near-field communication (NFC) sensor, or any combination of thereof, and the matching component includes a magnet, an NFC tag, or a combination thereof.
  9. The power source (142) of one of the claims 3 to 8, wherein the processor of the power source (404) is configured to determine the enablement time comprises the processor of the power source (404) being further configured to start a time after the sensor (160) detects the matching component and to determine the enablement time based on the timer.
  10. The power source (142) of one of the preceding claims, wherein the processor of the power source (404) is further configured to receive a signal from the sensor (160) and detect the matching component based on the received signal from the sensor (160).
  11. A system for controlling a bicycle (100), the system comprising: a power source (142) comprising: a housing (162); output terminals (166) supported by the housing (162); a sensor (160) supported by the housing (162), the sensor (160) being configured to detect a matching component on an electric drive unit of the bicycle (100); a first processor (404) in communication with the sensor (160), the first processor (404) being configured to enable the output terminals (166) after the sensor (160) detects the matching component on the electric drive unit, such that a voltage at the output terminals (166) is a portion of a discharge voltage of the power source (142); and the electric drive unit comprising a second processor being configured to be powered by the portion of the discharge voltage of the power source (142), but the electric drive unit is not powerable by the portion of the discharge voltage of the power source (142).
  12. The system of claim 11, wherein the power source (142) further comprises a first communication interface (412) and the electric drive unit further comprises a second communication interface, the first processor (404) being further configured to: identify an enablement time, the enablement time identifying a time at which the output terminals (166) were enabled; and transmit, via the first communication interface (412), a message to the electric drive unit, the message including the identified enablement time; and the second processor being further configured to: identify a power on time, the power on time identifying a time at which the electric drive unit was powered on by the power source (142); listen for one or more messages after the electric drive unit is powered on, the one or more messages including the message transmitted by the power source (142); receive, via the second communication interface, the message; compare the identified power on time to the identified enablement time; and initiate, based on the comparison, pairing of the power source (142) with the electric drive unit.
  13. The system of claim 12, wherein the second processor is further configured to: receive, via the second communication interface, a plurality of messages of the one or more messages, the plurality of messages including the message; identify a plurality of electronic components of the bicycle (100) based on the received plurality of messages, the plurality of electronic components including the power source (142); compare the identified plurality of electronic components of the bicycle (100) to a previous pairing configuration, the previous pairing configuration identifying a plurality of electronic components previously paired with the drive unit; and execute an action based on the comparison of the identified plurality of electronic components of the bicycle (100) of the previous pairing configuration.
  14. The system of claim 13, wherein the message is a first message, wherein the comparison of the identified plurality of electronic components of the bicycle (100) to the previous pairing configuration comprises identification of an additional electronic component not included within the previous pairing configuration, wherein the second processor is further configured to: determine, based on a second message of the plurality of received messages, whether the additional electronic component is a human-machine interface (HMI); and transfer, via the second communication interface, pairing information for at least some electronic components of the plurality of electronic components when the additional electronic component is the HMI.
  15. The system of claim 13 or 14, wherein the comparison of the identified plurality of electronic components of the bicycle (100) to the previous pairing configuration comprises identification of a missing electronic component included within the previous pairing configuration, wherein the second processor is further configured to: identify, based on the plurality of messages, whether a component of the plurality of electronic components is a replacement for the missing electronic component; initiate pairing of the component with the electronic component when the component is the replacement for the missing electronic component; and generate a warning when the plurality of electronic components does not include the replacement for the missing electronic component.
  16. The system of one of the claims 11 to 15, wherein the power source (142) further comprises a first communication interface (412) and the electric drive unit further comprises a second communication interface, the second processor being further configured to: identify a power on time, the power on time identifying a time at which the electric drive unit was powered on by the power source (142); transmit, via the second communication interface, a message to the power source (142), the message including the power on time; and the first processor (404) being further configured to: identify an enablement time, the enablement time identifying a time at which the output terminals (166) were enabled; listen for one or more messages, the one or more messages including the message transmitted by the drive unit; receive, via the first communication interface (412), the message; compare the identified power on time to the identified enablement time; and initiate, based on the comparison, pairing of the electric drive unit with the power source (142).
  17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first processor (404) is further configured to: receive, via the first communication interface (412), a plurality of messages of the one or more messages, the plurality of messages including the message; identify a plurality of electronic components of the bicycle (100) based on the received plurality of messages, the plurality of electronic components including the drive unit; compare the identified plurality of electronic components of the bicycle (100) to a previous pairing configuration, the previous pairing configuration identifying a plurality of electronic components previously paired with the power source (142); and execute an action based on the comparison of the identified plurality of electronic components of the bicycle (100) of the previous pairing configuration.
  18. The system of one of the claims 12 to 17, wherein the first (412) and second communication interfaces are wireless communication interfaces.

Description

Background 1. Field of the Disclosure The present disclosure is generally directed to control of electric components of a bicycle, and more particularly, to pairing of electric components of an electric bicycle. 2. Description of Related Art A bicycle with a pedal assist electric motor (e.g., an electric bicycle or an e-bike) may include a removeable battery pack. The removable battery pack communicates with a drive unit of the electric bicycle to provide information about the battery pack. For example, the removable battery pack may communicate a state of charge, fault conditions, and a connection status of the battery pack. The electric bicycle may also communicate with the battery pack to determine if the connected battery pack was made by an approved supplier before drawing power from the battery pack. The electric bicycle relies on wired communication networks of the electric bicycle to communicate this information from the electric bicycle to the connected battery pack. Summary In one example, an electronic component for a bicycle includes a communication interface and a processor in communication with the communication interface. The processor is configured to identify a first power on time. The first power on time identifies a time at which the electronic component was powered on by a power source of the bicycle. The processor is further configured to listen for one or more messages after the electronic component is powered on and receive, via the communication interface, a message of the one or more messages. The received message is from another electronic component of the bicycle and identifies a second power on time. The second power on time is for the other electronic component. The processor is further configured to compare the second power on time to the first power on time and initiate, based on the comparison, pairing of the other electronic component with the electronic component. In one example, the communication interface is a wireless communication interface. In one example, the processor is further configured to start a timer when the electronic component is powered on by the power source of the bicycle. The identification of the time at which the electronic component was powered on by the power source of the bicycle includes identification of the time at which the electronic component was powered on by the power source based on the timer. In one example, the other electronic component of the bicycle is the power source and the power source is a battery. The second power on time identifies a time at which terminals of the battery were powered on. In one example, the comparison of the second power on time to the first power on time includes determination of a time difference between the second power on time and the first power on time. The processor is further configured to compare the determined time difference to a predetermined time difference threshold. The initiation, based on the comparison, of the pairing includes initiation of the pairing when, based on the comparison of the determined time difference to the predetermined time difference threshold, the determined time difference is less than the predetermined time difference threshold. In one example, the electronic component is a drive unit of the bicycle. In one example, the message is a first message, and the other electronic component is a first other electronic component. The processor is further configured to receive, via the communication interface, a second message of the one or more messages. The received second message is from a second other electronic component of the bicycle and identifies a third power on time. The third power on time is for the second other electronic component. The processor is further configured to compare the third power on time to the first power on time and initiate, based on the comparison of the third power on time to the first power on time, pairing of the second other electronic component with the electronic component. In one example, wherein the processor is further configured to receive, via the communication interface, a plurality of messages of the one or more messages. The plurality of messages include the message. The processor is further configured to identify a plurality of other electronic components of the bicycle based on the received plurality of messages. The plurality of other electronic components include the other electronic component. The processor is further configured to compare the identified plurality of other electronic components of the bicycle to a previous pairing configuration. The previous pairing configuration identifies a plurality of electronic components previously paired with the electronic component. The processor is further configured to execute an action based on the comparison of the identified plurality of other electronic components of the bicycle to the previous pairing configuration. In one example, the message is a first message. The comparison of th