# US 11,077,914 B2 · Bicycle drive unit > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,077,914 B2 - Document ID: US11077914B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/157,357 - Filed: 2018-10-11 - Published: 2019-04-18 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2017-10-13 - Assignees: Shimano Inc. - Applicants: Shimano Inc. - Inventors: Shinichiro Noda; Yoshinori Iino; Takuya Edamura; Kento Mitsuyasu; Takaaki Fujiwara - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11077914B2 ## CPC - B62M 6/55: power-driven at crank shafts parts - B62K 19/34: Bottom brackets - B62K 19/40: for attaching accessories, e.g. article carriers, lamps - B62M 9/10: involving different-sized wheels, {e.g. rear sprocket chain wheels} selectively engaged by the chain, belt, or the like {(bicycle hubs rotatably arranged on axle B60B27/023)} - B62M 11/02: of unchangeable ratio - B62M 11/145: {built in, or adjacent to, the bottom bracket} - F16H 1/14: comprising conical gears only - F16H 3/66: composed of a number of gear trains without drive passing from one train to another - F16H 37/04: Combinations of toothed gearings only (F16H37/06 takes precedence) - B62M: RIDER PROPULSION OF WHEELED VEHICLES OR SLEDGES; POWERED PROPULSION OF SLEDGES OR {SINGLE-TRACK} CYCLES; TRANSMISSIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SUCH VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of transmissions in vehicles in general B60K; transmission elements per se F16) - B62K: CYCLES; CYCLE FRAMES; CYCLE STEERING DEVICES; RIDER-OPERATED TERMINAL CONTROLS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR CYCLES; CYCLE AXLE SUSPENSIONS; CYCLE SIDECARS, FORECARS, OR THE LIKE - F16H: GEARING ## Abstract A bicycle drive unit includes a housing, crankshaft and a propulsion assist motor. The housing is configured to be mounted on a frame of a bicycle. The housing includes a first portion and a second portion. The crankshaft is provided to the first portion of the housing. The propulsion assist motor is provided to the second portion of the housing and configured to assist propulsion of the bicycle. The propulsion assist motor includes a rotational axis extending in a direction intersecting a direction in which the crankshaft extends. The second portion has a maximum dimension of smaller than or equal to 75 mm in a direction orthogonal to the rotational axis of the propulsion assist motor. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A bicycle drive unit comprising: a housing configured to be mounted on a frame of a bicycle, the housing including a first portion and a second portion; a crankshaft provided to the first portion of the housing, the crankshaft having a rotational axis; and a propulsion assist motor provided to the second portion of the housing and configured to assist propulsion of the bicycle, the propulsion assist motor including a rotor arranged to rotate about a rotational axis extending in a direction intersecting a direction in which the crankshaft extends, the rotational axis of the rotor and the rotational axis of the crankshaft lying in the same plane, the second portion having a maximum dimension of smaller than or equal to 75 mm in a direction orthogonal to the rotational axis of the propulsion assist motor. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 1, wherein the housing is configured to be accommodated in at least a part of the frame. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 1, wherein the second portion has a minimum dimension of larger than or equal to 40 mm in a direction orthogonal to the rotational axis of the propulsion assist motor. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 3, wherein the second portion has a first dimension in a first direction that differs from a second dimension in a second direction extending perpendicular to the first direction on a plane orthogonal to the rotational axis of the propulsion assist motor. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 4, wherein the first direction is parallel to the direction in which the crankshaft extends, and the first dimension is smaller than the second dimension. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 4, wherein a ratio of the second dimension to the first dimension is larger than 1 and smaller than or equal to 1.5. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 1, wherein the propulsion assist motor has a maximum output torque of larger than or equal to 10 Nm and smaller than or equal to 80 Nm. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 7, wherein the maximum output torque of the propulsion assist motor is larger than or equal to 10 Nm and smaller than or equal to 60 Nm. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 8, wherein the maximum output torque of the propulsion assist motor is larger than or equal to 10 Nm and smaller than or equal to 40 Nm. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 1, wherein the propulsion assist motor has a maximum output of larger than or equal to 100 watts and smaller than or equal to 600 watts. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 10, wherein the maximum output of the propulsion assist motor is larger than or equal to 100 watts and smaller than or equal to 450 watts. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 11, wherein the maximum output of the propulsion assist motor is larger than or equal to 100 watts and smaller than or equal to 300 watts. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 1, wherein the rotational axis of the propulsion assist motor is orthogonal to the rotational axis of the crankshaft. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 1, further comprising an output part provided to the housing, the crankshaft and the propulsion assist motor being operatively coupled to the output part to transmit torque from the crankshaft and the propulsion assist motor to the output part. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 14, wherein the output part is coaxial with the crankshaft and at least partially exposed from the housing. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 14, wherein the output part is configured to mount one or more sprockets. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 16, wherein the one or more sprockets each include at least thirty teeth but no more than fifty-five teeth. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 14, further comprising a first one-way clutch provided to the housing in a first power transmission path between the crankshaft and the output part. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 18, wherein the first one-way clutch is provided to the first portion of the housing. ### Claim 20 (depends on 14) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 14, further comprising a decelerator provided to the housing and connected to the propulsion assist motor. ### Claim 21 (depends on 14) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 14, further comprising a second one-way clutch provided to a second power transmission path between the propulsion assist motor and the output part. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 21, wherein the second one-way clutch is provided to the first portion of the housing. ### Claim 23 (depends on 1) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 1, further comprising an electronic controller provided to the housing and operatively coupled to the propulsion assist motor. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 23, further comprising: a detector provided to the housing and configured to detect a human driving force input from the crankshaft, the electronic controller being configured to control the propulsion assist motor in accordance with a detection result of the detector. ### Claim 25 (depends on 1) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 1 further comprising an electrical terminal provided to the housing and electrically connected to a battery that supplies power to the propulsion assist motor. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 25, wherein the second portion of the housing includes a first end and a second end in a direction parallel to the rotational axis of the propulsion assist motor, the first end is connected to the first portion, and the electrical terminal is provided on the second end. ### Claim 27 (depends on 1) The bicycle drive unit according to claim 1, wherein the second portion has a maximum dimension of smaller than or equal to 60 mm in the direction orthogonal to the rotational axis of the propulsion assist motor. ### Claim 28 A bicycle drive unit comprising: a housing configured to be mounted on a frame of a bicycle, the housing including a first portion and a second portion; a crankshaft provided to the first portion of the housing; a propulsion assist motor provided to the second portion of the housing and configured to assist propulsion of the bicycle, the propulsion assist motor including a rotational axis extending in a direction intersecting a direction in which the crankshaft extends; an output part provided to the housing, the crankshaft and the propulsion assist motor being operatively coupled to the output part to transmit torque from the crankshaft and the propulsion assist motor to the output part; and a decelerator provided to the housing and connected to the propulsion assist motor, the second portion having a maximum dimension of smaller than or equal to 75 mm in a direction orthogonal to the rotational axis of the propulsion assist motor, the decelerator including a first gear, to which the torque of the propulsion assist motor is transmitted, and a second gear engaged with the first gear to transmit the torque to the output part, the first gear including a first rotational axis parallel to the rotational axis of the propulsion assist motor; and the second gear including a second rotational axis parallel to the rotational axis of the crankshaft.