Bicycle power meter

#The present disclosure relates generally to a power meter of a bicycle, and more particularly to a power meter which could detect a power exerted on a stem by a user.

#In order to monitor a riding performance, a bicyclist usually mounts a power meter on a bicycle to make a riding performance measurable, wherein a measuring result could be used as a reference for training. The conventional power meter is generally disposed on pedals or on cranks of the bicycle to measure forces exerted to the pedals or the cranks of the bicycle by legs of the bicyclist, thereby to calculate a power exerted by the bicyclist and output the power for reference, and therefore the bicyclist can effectively monitor the power outputted by his/her own, improving the riding performance.

#However, riding the bicycle is a whole-body exercise, which means the power output of a bicyclist when riding the bicycle is not limited to the legs. The conventional power meter installed on the pedal or the crank of the bicycle can effectively detect the output power of mainly the legs of the rider, but cannot detect the power output from the other parts of the rider's body, so that the bicyclist cannot monitor the power output accurately, which affects the riding performance. In all aspects, the conventional power meter still has room for improvement.

#The present disclosure will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of some illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the bicycle power meter according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

#FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the bicycle power meter according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed on the handlebar;

#A bicycle power meter 1 of an embodiment according to the present disclosure is illustrated in FIG. 1, which includes a strain gauge 10, a signal processing unit 20, a processor 30, and a signal transmitter 40. The bicycle power meter 1 is applied to a bicycle, wherein the bicycle includes a head and a frame 2. The head includes a handlebar 3 and a stem 4, wherein the stem 4 is respectively connected to the handlebar 3 and a steerer tube of a fork of the frame 2. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the strain gauge 10 could be disposed on the handlebar 3 as shown in FIG. 2 or could be disposed on the stem 4 as shown in FIG. 3, thereby to detect a deformation of the handlebar 3 or a deformation of the stem 4.

#Referring to FIG. 1, the strain gauge 10 is connected to the signal processing unit 20 by signal, and the processor 30 is respectively connected to the signal processing unit 20 and the signal transmitter 40 by signal. In this way, the signal processing unit 20 correspondingly outputs an electrical signal based on the deformations of the handlebar 3 or the stem 4 detected by the strain gauge 10. The processor 30 receives the electrical signal outputted by the signal processing unit 20 and calculates a measuring value based on the electrical signal and outputs the measuring value in an output signal. The signal transmitter 40 receives the output signal outputted by the processor 30 and converts the output signal to a wired or wireless signal and sends the wired or wireless signal to a terminal device 50 for being read by the user. As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “connected by signal” may include connected in a wired or wireless manner.

#In addition, the signal processing unit 20 includes a bridge circuit, an amplifier circuit, and an analog to digital converting circuit, wherein the bridge circuit is connected to the amplifier circuit, and the amplifier circuit is connected to the analog to digital converting circuit. When the strain gauge 10 detects the deformations of the handlebar 3 or the stem 4 to correspondingly generate a resistance change, the amplifier circuit amplifies an output voltage, which is generated by the bridge circuit based on the resistance change, and the analog to digital converting circuit converts the output voltage to a digital electrical signal and sends the digital electrical signal to the processor 30. In this way, the processor 30 could correspondingly output the output signal based on the deformations of the handlebar 3 or the stem 4 detected by the strain gauge 10.