JP2012145131A - Air spring - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air spring that can be applied by a simple adjusting operation even in traveling any one of a high speed lane or a low speed lane.SOLUTION: The air spring has an upper surface plate 1, a lower surface plate 2, a cylindrical flexible member 3 arranged from the upper surface plate 1 to the lower surface plate 2, an elastic stopper 4 fixed to the lower surface plate 2, a regulating member 16 fixed to a bottom plate 14 of the elastic stopper 4, contacting the lower surface plate 2 and regulating the relative horizontal directional displacement of the lower surface plate 2 and the bottom plate 14 within a predetermined range when the lower surface plate 2 and the bottom plate 14 relatively displace by a predetermined quantity in a horizontal direction. The regulating member 16 can be switched between a regulating attitude for regulating the relative horizontal directional displacement of the lower surface plate 2 and the bottom plate 14 within a predetermined range and a releasing attitude for releasing the regulation of the horizontal directional displacement.

Description

  The present invention relates to an air spring used for a railway vehicle or the like.

  Conventionally, as an air spring used in a railway vehicle or the like, an upper plate attached to a vehicle body of a vehicle, a lower plate arranged below the carriage, and a flexible rubber made provided over the upper plate and the lower plate. A member provided with a member (bellows) and an elastic stopper interposed between a bottom plate and a carriage is known. As the elastic stopper, a laminated rubber structure in which rubber layers and steel plates are alternately laminated is generally used.

Air is supplied to the inside of the flexible member and maintained in a pressurized state. The air spring is configured so as to exhibit a buffering function against a load, vibration or roll in the vertical direction by a flexible member and an elastic stopper which are inflated with pressurized air.

By the way, the above-mentioned air spring structurally has a horizontal spring constant that is close to linear, and therefore the force for suppressing the relative horizontal displacement between the carriage and the vehicle body becomes weak. Therefore, when the vehicle passes through the curve at a high speed, a large centrifugal force acts in the left-right direction and the roll increases, so that it is a problem to ensure traveling safety.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the lateral displacement of the elastic stopper can be limited within a predetermined range to make the spring constant in the lateral direction non-linear, thereby suppressing the rolling of the vehicle body. Air springs are known.

  FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the air spring showing a state in which the flexible member 33 is filled with air, with the left half showing the cross-section in the front-rear direction and the right half showing the cross-section in the left-right direction. The air spring 30 is interposed between the upper surface plate 31, the lower surface plate 32, the flexible member (bellows) 33 disposed across the upper surface plate 31 and the lower surface plate 32, and the lower surface plate 32 and the carriage. The elastic stopper 34 is provided.

  A long hole 35 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction is formed in the lower surface plate 32 of the air spring 30, and a regulating member 37 having a tip inserted into the long hole 35 is erected on the bottom plate 36 of the elastic stopper 34. The elastic stopper 34 generally has a laminated rubber structure in which rubber layers and steel plates are alternately laminated.

  The regulating member 37 can be formed in a cylindrical shape as shown in FIGS. As such an air spring, what was described in patent document 1 is known, for example. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, the shape of the regulating member 37 can be formed in a flat shape by scraping the curved surface portions at both ends in the left-right direction of the cylinder. Thereby, the contact area of the regulating member 37 and the inner peripheral surface of the long hole can be increased, and deformation of the regulating member can be suppressed. As such an air spring, what was described in patent document 2 is known, for example.

  In the air spring 30, when a force is applied in the left-right direction of the vehicle and the relative horizontal displacement between the carriage and the vehicle body exceeds a predetermined amount, the regulating member comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the elongated hole and moves in the horizontal direction. The spring constant becomes high, that is, the spring constant becomes non-linear. Thereby, traveling stability (high-speed stability) at a high speed of the vehicle can be ensured.

JP-A-8-21475 JP 2008-215455 A

  As described above, in the air spring, high-speed stability can be ensured by the restriction member, but even when the vehicle passes the curve at a low speed at which a large centrifugal force does not act, As a result, the spring constant increases in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the long hole, and as a result, there is a disadvantage that riding comfort is remarkably lowered on a low-speed route having a curve with a small radius of curvature.

  In other words, a vehicle equipped with an air spring using a regulating member can be suitably operated on a high-speed route, but on the low-speed route, on the contrary, the ride comfort is remarkably reduced, so that it cannot be operated as it is. . Therefore, in order to drive the vehicle on a low-speed route, the air spring mounted on the vehicle is removed with the vehicle body mounted on the upper plate lifted, and a new type that does not use a regulating member is newly added. It was necessary to install again.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an air spring that can be applied by a simple adjustment operation even when traveling on either a high-speed route or a low-speed route.

  In order to solve the above problems, an air spring according to the present invention is attached to an upper surface plate, a lower surface plate, a cylindrical flexible member disposed across the upper surface plate and the lower surface plate, and the lower surface plate. An elastic stopper, attached to the bottom plate of the elastic stopper, and when the lower surface plate and the bottom plate are relatively displaced by a predetermined amount in the horizontal direction, the lower surface plate contacts with the lower surface plate; A restricting member that restricts horizontal displacement within a predetermined range, the restricting member restricting relative horizontal displacement between the bottom plate and the bottom plate within a predetermined range, and the horizontal displacement. It is possible to switch to a release posture for releasing the regulation.

  According to the above configuration, the air spring can be applied to both the high-speed route and the low-speed route by simply switching the posture of the restricting member with the same air spring without re-loading the air spring depending on the traveling route. Can be provided.

  For example, the restricting member is detachably provided on the bottom plate, and is in the restricting posture when attached to the bottom plate, and in the released posture when removed from the bottom plate. It can be set as a simple structure.

  In this case, the air spring is configured such that a ventilation hole for adjusting the air pressure inside the flexible member is provided on the top plate, and a locking portion for locking the regulating member on the central axis of the ventilation hole is provided on the bottom plate. What is necessary is just to form. On the other hand, a through hole is formed in the lower surface plate. The through hole is formed so that the regulating member is inserted into the through hole in a state where the regulating member is locked to the locking portion.

  In order to set the restricting member to the restricting posture, the air in the flexible member is discharged and the upper surface plate is seated on the lower surface plate. Then, with the vehicle body placed on the air spring, the pipe connected to the vent hole of the top plate is removed from the inside of the vehicle body to expose the vent hole. Thereafter, the restricting member may be inserted into the flexible member from the vent hole, and the restricting member may be locked to the locking portion located directly below the vent hole. In order to set the restricting member to the release posture, it is only necessary to remove the restricting member from the locking portion and then to take it out from the vent hole. In order to actually attach the restricting member to the engaging portion, an appropriate jig may be used and the restricting member may be attached to and detached from the engaging portion through the vent hole of the upper surface plate.

  Further, the restriction member may be provided so as to be movable while being engaged with the bottom plate, and can be switched between a restriction posture and a release posture depending on the engagement position of the restriction member with respect to the bottom plate. In this case, as a configuration of the air spring, a vent hole for adjusting the air pressure inside the flexible member is provided on the top plate, and an engaging portion on the bottom plate on which the regulating member can move on the central axis of the vent hole is provided. What is necessary is just to provide.

  On the other hand, a through hole is formed in the lower surface plate. The through hole is formed so that the regulating member is inserted into the through hole in a state where the regulating member is in the regulating posture. In order to set the restricting member in the restricting posture, the restricting member is raised toward the upper surface plate while being engaged with the engaging portion, and in order to place the restricting member in the releasing posture, the restricting member is engaged with the engaging portion. What is necessary is just to descend | fall toward a baseplate with the state put together.

  The air spring according to the present invention is attached to the bottom plate of the elastic stopper, and comes into contact with the lower surface plate when the lower surface plate and the bottom plate are displaced by a predetermined amount in the horizontal direction. A regulating member that regulates the horizontal displacement within a predetermined range is provided, and the regulating member releases the regulation posture that regulates the relative horizontal displacement between the bottom plate and the bottom plate within the predetermined range and the regulation of the horizontal displacement. Since it can be switched to the release posture, it can be applied by simple adjustment work even when traveling on either the high-speed route or the low-speed route.

It is a figure which shows embodiment of the air spring of this invention, and is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which the control member took the control attitude | position The top view of the state which removed the upper surface board and flexible member of the air spring of FIG. The figure which shows the state which the control member took the cancellation | release posture in FIG. It is a figure which shows the aspect of the control member different from FIG. 1, and is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the air spring which shows the state which the control member took the control attitude | position The figure which shows the state which the control member took the cancellation | release posture in FIG. A longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional air spring The principal part enlarged plan view which shows a part of the control member and lower surface board of FIG. The figure which shows the aspect of the control member different from FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1-3 is a figure which shows embodiment of the air spring for railway vehicles which concerns on this invention. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air spring in a state in which the restricting member assumes a restricting posture, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the state in which the top plate and the flexible member are removed in FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the air spring of the state which took the cancellation | release posture. 1 and 3 to 5, the AA cross section in FIG. 2, that is, the left half of the air spring shows a cross section in the front-rear direction, and the right half shows a cross section in the left-right direction.

  The air spring includes an upper surface plate 1 attached to the vehicle body of the vehicle, a lower surface plate 2 disposed below the upper surface plate 1, and a cylindrical flexible member 3 disposed between the upper surface plate 1 and the lower surface plate 2. And an elastic stopper 4 interposed between the bottom plate 2 and the carriage. 1 and 3 to 5 show a state in which the air in the flexible member 3 has escaped.

  In the present embodiment, a rubber bellows is used as the flexible member 3. The flexible member 3 is composed of a laminated rubber having a reinforcing rubber layer in which a reinforcing cord is embedded as an intermediate layer, and the flexible member 3 has a wall thickness in which a reinforcing rubber layer is wound around a bead core at an upper end portion and a lower end portion thereof. Bead portions 3a and 3b are formed. That is, the flexible member 3 includes bead portions 3a and 3b formed at both upper and lower ends, and a thin and tubular flexible portion 3c made of laminated rubber formed between the bead portions 3a and 3b. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the upper surface plate 1 includes a metal disk-shaped support plate 5, a cylindrical bead receiving portion 6 that protrudes toward the lower surface plate at the center of the support plate 5, and the support plate 5. A protective rubber layer 7 is provided on the lower surface of the bead receiving portion 6 at a portion radially outward from the bead receiving portion 6, and the bead portion 3 a is fitted into the bead receiving portion 6. A vent hole 10 for adjusting the air pressure inside the flexible member 3 is formed at the center of the top plate 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the elastic stopper 4 includes a laminated rubber portion 15 in which a rubber layer 11 made of vulcanized rubber and a reinforcing layer 12 made of a steel plate are alternately laminated. A metal top plate 13 and a bottom plate 14 are bonded to the laminated rubber portion 15 at the lower end. The laminated rubber part 5 is formed in a thick cylindrical shape.

  The lower surface plate 2 is formed in a disk shape from a metal material, and is fixed to the top plate 13 of the elastic stopper 4 by fastening members such as bolts and nuts. The top plate 13 is formed in an annular shape. The lower surface plate 2 also has a function as a bead receiving portion, and the bead portion 3 b is fitted into the lower surface plate 2.

  A rubber seat 8 is mounted on the lower side of the bead portion 3b along the shape of the bead portion 3b. The rubber seat 8 is formed in an annular shape by rubber and reinforcing metal fittings. Thereby, durability of the flexible member 3 can be maintained favorably.

  The bead receiving portion 6 and the lower surface plate 2 have a function of ensuring safe driving of the vehicle by the bead receiving portion 6 being seated on the lower surface plate 2 when the air inside the flexible member 3 escapes (when deflated). Have both. A sliding sheet 9 is fixed to each contact surface with which the bead receiving portion 6 and the lower surface plate 2 are in contact during deflation.

  The sliding sheet 9 is made of a thermoplastic or thermosetting synthetic resin that can be formed into a thin and tough sheet, and has a small friction coefficient. Specific examples include fluororesin, polyethylene, and polypropylene. In this embodiment, a fluororesin sheet is used.

  The bottom plate 14 of the elastic stopper 4 is formed in a disc shape, and a locking portion 17 that locks the restricting member 16 is formed in the center portion so as to protrude upward. The locking portion 17 is formed in a truncated cone shape with a conical tip cut off, and is fixed in a state of being inserted into the laminated rubber portion 15. The restricting member 16 is formed of a hexagon socket bolt, and a screw hole into which the restricting member 16 can be screwed is formed at the top of one of the locking portions 17. The restriction posture is set when the restriction member 16 is locked to the locking portion 17, and the release posture is set when the restriction member 16 is removed from the locking portion 17.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a through hole 18 is formed in the center portion of the lower surface plate 2, and the restricting member 16 is held in a state of being inserted into the through hole 18 when the restricting member 16 takes a restricting posture. The At this time, in a state where no horizontal force is applied to the air spring, the regulating member 16 is positioned at the center of the through hole 18 without contacting the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 18 as shown in the figure.

  In the air spring configured as described above, when the regulating member 16 is locked to the locking portion 17, the air in the flexible member 3 is discharged and the upper surface plate 1 is seated on the lower surface plate 2 as shown in FIG. In this state, the pipe connected to the vent hole 10 is removed to expose the vent hole 10. Then, it is only necessary to attach / detach the regulating member 16 to / from the locking portion 17 from the vent hole 10 of the upper surface plate 1 using an appropriate jig.

  As a specific example of the jig, as shown in FIG. 3, a magnet type hexagon wrench 19 is used, and the hexagon wrench 19 is inserted from the vent hole 10 with the regulating member 16 adsorbed to the tip by a magnetic force. The restricting member 16 can be screwed into the locking portion 17. The restricting member 16 protrudes upward from the locking portion 17 and is locked in a state of being inserted through the through hole 18. On the other hand, in order to set the regulating member 16 to the release posture, after removing the regulating member 16 from the locking portion 17 using the hexagon wrench 19, the regulating member 16 is adsorbed to the hexagon wrench 19 from the outside of the ventilation hole 10. You can take it out.

  The through-hole 18 is a rectangular long hole that is longer in the longitudinal direction C of the vehicle than in the lateral direction B of the vehicle. Therefore, when the restricting member 16 takes a restricting posture, the restricting member 16 does not contact the through hole 18 even if a force acts in the front-rear direction of the air spring when the vehicle starts or stops, and the lower surface plate 2 The relative longitudinal displacement between the base plate 14 and the bottom plate 14 is not restricted. As a result, it is possible to maintain good riding comfort with respect to the shaking of the vehicle in the front-rear direction.

  On the other hand, when a strong force acts in the left-right direction of the air spring, such as when the vehicle passes a curve at a high speed, the relative lateral displacement between the bottom plate 2 and the bottom plate 14 is a predetermined amount ( In FIG. 2, when the length X) is reached, the restricting member 16 comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 18 and further displacement is restricted, and the spring constant can be made non-linear. This makes it possible to ensure high-speed stability on high-speed routes.

  When the vehicle is operated on a low-speed route, the regulating member 16 is set to the release posture. Thereby, not only when a force acts in the front-rear direction of the air spring, but also when a force acts in the left-right direction of the air spring, the relative horizontal displacement between the lower surface plate 2 and the bottom plate 14 is restricted. Never happen. Therefore, it is possible to effectively relieve the vibration when the vehicle passes through the curve at a low speed, and it is possible to maintain good riding comfort with respect to the vibration in the front-rear and left-right directions.

  As described above, by using the air spring according to the present invention for a vehicle, it is possible to switch to either a high-speed route or a low-speed route by simply switching the posture of the regulating member without re-loading the air spring for each traveling route. The vehicle can also be applied to this.

  In the present embodiment, the aspect in which the regulating member 16 is provided detachably with respect to the locking portion 17 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the regulating member can move on the central axis CA of the vent hole 10. It is also possible to provide a simple engagement portion and switch between the restriction posture and the release posture at the position of the restriction member with respect to the engagement portion 21.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the restriction member 20 is movable on the central axis CA of the vent hole 10 in the bottom plate 14 using the hexagon socket bolt as the restriction member 20 as described above. What is necessary is just to provide the engaging part 21 provided with the simple screw hole. When the combination of the restricting member 20 and the engaging portion 21 in this aspect is compared with the combination of the restricting member 16 and the locking portion 17 described above, the former is longer in the bolt length of the restricting member 20 and the engaging portion. The depth of the 21 screw holes is deep.

  Thereby, the regulating member 20 can be moved up and down with respect to the engaging portion 21 by rotating the regulating member 20 with the hexagon wrench 19. Specifically, in order to set the restricting member 20 to the restricting posture, the restricting member 20 may be raised toward the upper surface plate 1 until the restricting member 20 is inserted into the through hole 18. For this purpose, the regulating member 20 may be lowered toward the bottom plate 14. In this aspect, there is no need to take out the regulating member 20 from the vent hole 10 to the outside, and switching between the regulating posture and the releasing posture can be performed more easily.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper surface board 2 Lower surface board 3 Flexible member 4 Elastic stopper 5 Support plate 6 Bead receiving part 7 Protective rubber layer 8 Rubber seat 9 Sliding sheet 10 Vent hole 11 Rubber layer 12 Reinforcement layer 13 Top plate 14 Bottom plate 15 Laminated rubber part 16, 20 Restricting member 17 Locking portion 18 Through hole 19 Hexagon wrench 21 Engaging portion

Claims (6)

An upper plate, a lower plate, a cylindrical flexible member disposed across the upper plate and the lower plate, an elastic stopper attached to the lower plate, and a bottom plate of the elastic stopper; A regulating member that contacts the bottom plate when the face plate and the bottom plate are displaced by a predetermined amount in the horizontal direction and regulates the relative horizontal displacement between the bottom plate and the bottom plate within a predetermined range; The restricting member can be switched between a restricting posture for restricting a relative horizontal displacement between the lower surface plate and the bottom plate within a predetermined range and a releasing posture for releasing the restriction of the horizontal displacement. Features an air spring. The restricting member is provided detachably with respect to the bottom plate, and is in the restricting posture when attached to the bottom plate, and in the released posture when detached from the bottom plate. The air spring according to claim 1, wherein: The air spring according to claim 2, wherein a ventilation hole is provided in the top plate, and a locking portion that locks the regulating member is formed on a central axis of the ventilation hole in the bottom plate. The restriction member is provided to be movable in a state of being engaged with the bottom plate, and can be switched between the restriction posture and the release posture according to the engagement position of the restriction member with respect to the bottom plate. Item 1. The air spring according to Item 1. The air spring according to claim 4, wherein a ventilation hole is provided in the upper surface plate, and an engagement portion is formed in the bottom plate so that the restriction member can move on a central axis of the ventilation hole. The air spring according to claim 1, wherein a through hole is formed in the lower surface plate, and the restricting member is held in a state of being inserted into the through hole when in the restricting posture. .

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