JP4077293B2 - Air spring height control device for railway vehicles - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air spring height control device for a railway vehicle that controls the supply / exhaust amount of an air spring disposed between a vehicle body and a carriage to change the height of the air spring.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a railway vehicle that supports a vehicle body with an air spring, the vehicle body is connected to each air spring arranged between the vehicle body and the carriage by being separated from the left and right via a height adjusting rod provided corresponding to each air spring. Equipped with a height adjustment mechanism that can adjust the height of the air spring by transmitting the amount of vertical displacement between the carriages to the height control valve, when load fluctuations due to passengers getting on and off and load fluctuations during traveling occur The height control valve is operated to supply / exhaust the pressurized air in the air spring according to the change in the distance between the vehicle body and the carriage accompanying the load change, and the height of the air spring is made constant.
[0003]
In addition, in order to improve the riding comfort when traveling at a curve at a cant equilibrium speed, the height of each air spring disposed between the vehicle body and the carriage is forcibly changed to incline the vehicle body. A vehicle body tilting device is known. As such a vehicle body tilting device, the height of the air spring is adjusted by a height control valve whose opening and closing timing is determined based on the set length of the height adjusting rod provided corresponding to each of the left and right air springs. An anti-rolling mechanism comprising an adjustable height adjusting mechanism and an anti-rolling mechanism configured by attaching rods connected to both ends of a torsion bar provided in the left-right direction of the vehicle body via links to the vehicle body. The hydraulic actuator between the torsion bar and the rod is driven to tilt the vehicle body, and the push-pull cable that connects the left and right height adjustment rods is moved in the longitudinal direction with a linear motor to adjust the set length of the adjustment rods. Increase / decrease in the left and right directions and rotate the valve rod of the height control valve to supply pressurized air to the air spring on the outer gauge side and raise the air spring on the outer gauge side to raise the body There are things to be inclined. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent No. 3193469 (pages 3 to 4, FIG. 1, FIG. 3, FIG. 4)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, as described above, although the height of the air spring can be made constant with respect to the load fluctuation, for example, as a barrier-free measure that has recently attracted attention, the platform and the vehicle floor height are matched. I couldn't. In the vehicle body tilting device described above, a hydraulic actuator that moves the relative positions of the left and right rods of the anti-rolling mechanism up and down, and a linear motor that increases and decreases the heights of the left and right height adjustment bars of the height adjustment mechanism in the reverse direction. Are driven in synchronism with each other, the structure is complicated and the cost is high.
[0006]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an air spring height control device for a railway vehicle that can raise and lower a vehicle body using an existing vehicle system.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention provides an air spring disposed between a vehicle body and a cart, separated from the left and right, via a height adjusting rod provided corresponding to each air spring. In an air spring height control device for a railway vehicle equipped with a height adjustment mechanism capable of adjusting the height of an air spring by transmitting the amount of vertical displacement between carriages to a height control valve, the height of the vertical displacement is adjusted. An electric rotary drive mechanism that can be returned to the initial state by a spring force is disposed in a path that transmits from the rod to the height control valve , and the electric rotary drive mechanism is rotatably supported in the waterproof case. By connecting the shaft of the rotation drive mechanism to the valve rod of the height control valve, the tip position of the height adjustment rod fluctuates due to a change in the distance between the vehicle body and the carriage, and the electric rotation drive mechanism rotates integrally. Rotate the valve stem and operate the height control valve to each air spring The height of the air spring is adjusted by controlling the supply and discharge of air to make the vehicle height constant, the shaft is rotated by the excitation of the electric rotary drive mechanism, the valve stem is rotated, and the height The control valve is operated to control the supply / discharge of air to / from each air spring to adjust the height of each air spring to incline the vehicle body, and to make the inclined vehicle body horizontal . In addition, a rotating member provided with two limit switches for detecting the rotational position of the valve rod is fixed to the shaft, and an operating state of the electric rotary drive mechanism is determined by a combination of output changes of the two limit switches. It is preferable to monitor the expansion / contraction state of the air spring . Moreover, it is preferable that the tip of the height adjusting rod and the electric rotation drive mechanism are connected via an insulator, and the shaft and the valve rod are connected via a link insulator. Further, as the electric rotation drive mechanism, for example, a stepping motor, a servo motor, a rotary solenoid or the like is suitable. In particular, the stepping motor and the servo motor can be rotated forward and backward in small increments and returned by a return spring force. With the position being neutral, normal-up-normal and normal-down-normal operations are possible.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 to FIG. 9 show a reference example, and air springs 3L and 3R are disposed between the vehicle body 1 and the carriage 2 so as to be separated from each other on the left and right. Hereinafter, “L” after the number indicates the left side and “R” indicates the right side. The air springs 3L and 3R are provided with air in order to keep the vehicle height constant while the height of the air springs 3L and 3R changes due to load fluctuations caused by passengers getting on and off and load fluctuations during traveling. Height adjustment rods 4L and 4R and height control valves 5L and 5R are provided as height adjustment mechanisms for supplying and discharging the pressure air in the springs 3L and 3R.
[0009]
The height adjusting rods 4L and 4R are provided with air cylinders 6L and 6R, respectively, as actuators that can be returned to their initial states by a spring force, and piston rods 7L and 7R of the air cylinders 6L and 6R. Are connected to levers 9L and 9R for rotating a valve rod 8 which is an opening / closing operation part of the height control valves 5L and 5R. The valve stem 8 is provided with limit switches SW1 and SW2 for detecting the rotational position of the valve stem 8 on a rotating member 10 that rotates integrally with the valve stem 8.
[0010]
This height adjustment mechanism is configured to change the distance between the vehicle body 1 and the carriage 2 with the load variation, that is, the tip positions of the height adjustment rods 4L and 4R, that is, the tip positions of the piston rods 7L and 7R of the air cylinders 6L and 6R. , The valve rod 8 of the height control valves 5L and 5R is rotated via the levers 9L and 9R, and the height control valves 5L and 5R are operated to transfer the air source 12 to the air springs 3L and 3R. Control air supply and discharge. The air pipe line 13 connected from the air source 12 to the air springs 3L and 3R via the height control valves 5L and 5R adjusts the flow rate between the air springs 3L and 3R and the height control valves 5L and 5R. A pipe line 15 provided with a valve 14 and a pipe line 17 provided with a throttle 16 are provided in parallel. The flow rate adjustment valve 14 is configured to open while the piston rods 7L and 7R of the air cylinders 6L and 6R are in operation, and to close when the piston rods 7L and 7R of the air cylinders 6L and 6R are stopped.
[0011]
Each of the air cylinders 6L and 6R is a spring return single-acting cylinder, and the piston rods 7L and 7R are moved by the pressure air supplied to the cylinder chamber by the operation of the solenoid valve 18 provided in the circuit with the air source 12. When the cylinder chamber is expanded and the pressure air in the cylinder chamber is exhausted, the piston rods 7L and 7R are contracted by the urging force of the return spring 6a to return to the initial state. The electromagnetic valve 18 is actuated by a command from the control device 20 mounted on the vehicle body 1.
[0012]
The control device 20 controls the raising and lowering of the vehicle body 1 and the inclination of the vehicle body 1, and includes a vehicle height control unit 21, an abnormality diagnosis unit 22, a track data storage unit 23, and a point information detection unit 24. Yes. A platform height detection sensor 25 provided on the vehicle body 1 is connected to the vehicle height control unit 21. The point information detection unit 24 is connected to a vehicle speed / P-point signal sensor 26 that receives a point information signal from the ATS ground unit installed in front of the vehicle speed detection and the curve portion of the travel route.
[0013]
In this configuration, when a load change due to passenger getting on and off or a load change during traveling occurs, the tip of the height adjusting rods 4L and 4R is changed by the change in the distance between the vehicle body 1 and the carriage 2 due to the load change. The tip positions of the piston rods 7L and 7R of the air cylinders 6L and 6R that are the positions fluctuate, the levers 9L and 9R rotate, the valve rods 8 of the height control valves 5L and 5R rotate, and the flow rate adjustment valve 14 Is closed, pressure air is supplied and discharged from the air source 12 to the height control valves 5L and 5R through the pipe line 17 provided with the throttle 16, and the heights of the air springs 3L and 3R are made constant. Thereby, the hunting of the air springs 3L and 3R can be prevented and the supply air flow rate from the air source 12 can be reduced.
[0014]
If the height of the platform and the floor of the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped is different from the platform height detection sensor 25 detects the height of the platform when the vehicle is stopped, the vehicle height control unit 21 based on the detected signal Expands and contracts the piston rods 7L and 7R of the air cylinders 6L and 6R of the four air springs 3L and 3R that support the vehicle body 1, and rotates the valve rods 8 of the height control valves 5L and 5R via the lever 9. dynamic and, height control valves 5L, each of the air springs from the air source 12 by operating the 5R 3L, by controlling the air supply and discharge of the 3R, to match the height of the floor of the vehicle and platform. At this time, the flow rate adjusting valve 14 is opened, and the air flow rate supplied to and discharged from the air source 12 through the pipe line 15 to the height control valves 5L and 5R is increased to improve the height adjustment response. Let
[0015]
In addition, the inclination of the vehicle body 1 when traveling on the curved portion of the traveling route is determined by the point information signal from the ATS ground element received by the vehicle speed / P point signal sensor 26 and the detected vehicle speed, and the track stored in the track data storage unit 23. Compared with the data, the vehicle height control unit 21 determines the air cylinder on the side on which the front and rear carriages 2 are inclined based on the curve shape information such as the curve radius and the cant amount, for example, the air cylinder 6R in this embodiment. Each of the piston rods 7R is extended while being continuously controlled.
[0016]
As the piston rod 7R extends, the valve rod 8 of the height control valve 5R rotates via the lever 9R, the height control valve 5R opens, and air is supplied from the air source 12 to the air spring 3R. Bulges upward and the vehicle body 1 tilts. Also in this case, the flow rate adjustment valve 14 is opened, and the flow rate of air supplied and discharged from the air source 12 to the height control valves 5L and 5R via the pipe line 15 is increased to improve the responsiveness of height adjustment. .
[0017]
In order to return the vehicle body 1 to the horizontal position with the end of the curve portion of the travel route, a point information signal from the ATS ground element installed in front of the curve portion end position and the vehicle speed / P point signal sensor 26 provided on the carriage 2 Is compared with the track data stored in the track data storage unit 21, the piston rod 7R of the air cylinder 6R is reduced, the air in the air spring 3R is exhausted, and the vehicle body 1 is leveled. To do.
[0018]
In this series of vehicle body tilting processes, the limit switches SW1 and SW2 that detect the rotational position of the valve stem 8 operate as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 7A, in the horizontal state of the vehicle body 1, since the piston rod 7R of the air cylinder 6R is contracted and the air spring 3R is also contracted, the limit switches SW1 and SW2 of the rotating member 10 are The contacts 29a and 29b are turned on close to each other. Next, in order to incline the vehicle body 1, as shown in FIG. 7 (b), when the piston rod 7R is extended, the lever 9R is raised and the valve rod 8 of the height control valve 5R and the rotary member 10 are connected to each other. The limit switch SW1 is switched off from the contact 29a, and the limit switch SW2 is switched from ON → OFF → ON in proximity to the contact 30b away from the contact 29b. At this stage, the air spring 3R is still contracted, but since the valve stem 8 is rotated in the air supply direction, the air spring 3R swells. When the air spring 3R swells, the vehicle body 1 rises from the carriage 2, and as shown in FIG. 7C, the lever 9R returns to the horizontal state, so that the rotating member 10 rotates counterclockwise. The limit switches SW1 and SW2 are close to the contacts 29a and 29b, respectively. Therefore, the limit switch SW1 is switched from OFF to ON, and the limit switch SW2 is switched from ON to OFF to ON. In order to return the vehicle body 1 to the horizontal state, as shown in FIG. 7D, when the piston rod 7R is contracted, the lever 9R is lowered and the valve rod 8 of the height control valve 5R and the rotary member 10 are counterclockwise. The limit switch SW1 is switched from ON → OFF → ON in proximity to the contact 30a away from the contact 29a, and the limit switch SW2 is switched from ON to OFF. At this stage, the air spring 3R is still inflated, but the valve stem 8 is rotating in the exhaust direction. Therefore, the air spring 3R is contracted, the vehicle body 1 is lowered, and the lever 9R is in a horizontal state as shown in FIG. Return to state.
[0019]
Therefore, by monitoring the ON / OFF switching of the limit switches SW1 and SW2, the operating states of the piston rods 7L and 7R of the air cylinders 6L and 6R and the expansion and contraction states of the air springs 3L and 3R can be confirmed. Increases reliability and reduces costs.
[0020]
Note that the height control valve is a type that takes some time from when the valve rod of the height control valve rotates to when the air spring actually expands and contracts in order to avoid unnecessary air supply and exhaust due to vehicle body shaking. In addition, there is a type in which the supply / exhaust flow rate is throttled very small when the lever of the height control valve is in a position near the horizontal. In the case of the former height control valve, the expansion and contraction of the piston rod is performed before the operation delay time of the height adjusting mechanism until the air spring is activated. On the other hand, in the case of the latter height control valve, it is not necessary to consider the operation delay time.
[0021]
In addition, the point detection of tilt start and horizontal return is not limited to that by the vehicle speed / P point signal sensor 26 described above, but, for example, a method of calculating a distance from a pulse by a speed generator and a wheel diameter, on the ground at almost constant intervals A method of correcting the absolute position by receiving the P point signal by the installed transponder, a method of correcting the absolute position by matching the acceleration signal of the carriage frame with the past traveling, and correcting the absolute position by GPS Various methods such as a method may be adopted.
[0022]
The abnormality diagnosis unit 22 includes the air cylinders 6R. Each of the limit switches 10 of the 6R limits the air cylinders 6R. This is to determine the extension state of each piston rod 7R of 6R, and as shown in FIG. 9 , when one of the piston rods 7R of the air cylinder 6R of the front and rear carriages 2 does not extend when the vehicle body is tilted. It judges that it is abnormal, and transmits it to the vehicle height control unit 21 to reduce the extending piston rod 7R to stop the vehicle body inclination and enter the curved road. The suspension of the vehicle body inclination is performed during the operation delay time of the height adjustment mechanism until the air spring 3R is expanded by the extension of the piston rod 7R of the air cylinder 6R and the vehicle body 1 is inclined.
[0023]
As described above, the height of the air springs 3L, 3R is changed by the expansion and contraction of the piston rods 7L, 7R of the air cylinders 6L, 6R provided on the height adjusting rods 4L, 4R. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost without affecting the unsprung weight with a simple structure using a highly reliable existing system and having a small number of parts. Moreover, it is possible to prevent only the piston rod of the air cylinder of either one of the front and rear carriages 2 from extending and entering the curved road when the vehicle body is tilted.
[0024]
10 to 12 show a first embodiment of the present invention. In the following embodiments, the same elements as those in the reference example will be described with the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the height adjusting rod 4L and the lever 9L, and the height adjusting rod 4R and the lever 9R are directly connected to each other, and the valve rod 8 of the height control valves 5L and 5R is used as an actuator. One rotary solenoid 30 is provided, and the rotary solenoid 30 is actuated by an electric signal from the vehicle height control unit 21 to rotate the valve rod 8 of the control valves 5L and 5R. By operating 5L and 5R respectively, the height of each air spring 3L and 3R is changed, and the vehicle body 1 is moved up and down or inclined.
[0025]
The rotary solenoid 30 includes a base 33 rotatably supported by a waterproof case 31 via a double-row cylindrical roller bearing 32, a coil 34 fixed to the base 33, and an armature that rotates by excitation of the coil 34. 35, a shaft 36 that rotates integrally with the armature 35, a ball 37 that regulates the rotation range of the armature 35, and a return spring 38 that returns the rotated armature 35 to its initial state.
[0026]
A shaft 39 of the lever 9L or the lever 9R is connected to the rotary solenoid 30, and the tip positions of the height adjusting rods 4L and 4R change due to a change in the distance between the vehicle body 1 and the carriage 2 due to a change in load. When 9L and 9R are rotated, the rotational force of the lever 9L or the lever 9R is weaker than the urging force of the return spring 38 of the rotary solenoid 30, so that the rotary solenoid 30 rotates integrally.
[0027]
The shaft 36 is connected to the valve stem 8 of the height control valves 5L and 5R via a link lever 40, and rotates the valve stem 8 by excitation of the coil 34. A rotating member 10 provided with the limit switches SW1 and SW2 for detecting the rotational position of the valve rod 8 is fixed to the shaft 36. Further, wirings 42 and 43 from a waterproof connector 41 are connected to the limit switches SW1 and SW2 and the coil 34, respectively.
[0028]
In this configuration, by rotating the armature 35 by exciting the coil 34, the height control valves 5L and 5R are operated in the same manner as in the first embodiment, so that the heights of the air springs 3L and 3R are increased. Not only can the vehicle body 1 be changed up and down or tilted, but the rotary solenoid 30 is covered with the waterproof case 31, so that it is possible to prevent malfunction due to freezing or damage due to stepping stones.
[0029]
Further, the operation state of the rotary solenoid 30 and the expansion / contraction state of the air 3L and the spring 3R can be confirmed by monitoring ON / OFF switching of the limit switches SW1 and SW2, as in the first embodiment. In this case, from the horizontal state of the vehicle body 1 in which the rotary solenoid 30 shown in FIG. 12A is inoperative and the air spring 3R is contracted, the rotary solenoid 30 shown in FIG. When the valve rod 8 and the rotary member 10 of the valve 5R rotate clockwise, the limit switch SW1 is turned OFF, the limit switch SW2 is switched from ON → OFF → ON, and the air spring 3R is inflated, the vehicle body 1 is dolly. As shown in FIG. 12 (c), the rotary solenoid 30 is raised and the lever 9R is lowered, and the rotary solenoid 30 is rotated counterclockwise. The limit switches SW1 and SW2 are moved closer to the contacts 29a and 29b, and the limit switch SW1 is switched from OFF to ON. Limit switch SW2 is switched to the ON → OFF → ON. When the rotary solenoid 30 is deactivated to return the vehicle body 1 to the horizontal state as shown in FIG. 12 (d), the valve rod 8 and the rotating member 10 are rotated counterclockwise by the urging force of the return spring 38. The limit switch SW1 is switched from ON → OFF → ON in the vicinity of the contact 30a away from the contact 29a, and the limit switch SW2 is switched from ON to OFF. At this stage, the air spring 3R is still inflated, but the valve stem 8 is rotating in the exhaust direction. Therefore, the air spring 3R is contracted, the vehicle body 1 is lowered, and the lever 9R is in a horizontal state as shown in FIG. Return to state.
[0030]
FIG. 13 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, two rotary solenoids 30 and 30 having the rotation direction reversed are provided in series, and the height control valve 5L or the height control valve is provided. Each of the 5R valve stems 8 can be rotated forward and backward, and the air spring 3L or the air spring 3R is inflated to incline the vehicle body 1 as in the above embodiments, and the air spring 3L or the air spring 3R is contracted. Thus, the vehicle body 1 can be tilted.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the air spring height control device according to the present invention has a simple structure with a small number of parts using an existing system with high reliability, and can move the vehicle up and down and tilt, thereby affecting the unsprung weight. Therefore, the cost can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an air spring height control device of a reference example. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an air spring and a height adjusting mechanism. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a state in which an air cylinder is extended from a normal state. ] Schematic diagram of piping from air source to air spring [FIG. 5] Schematic sectional view showing the arrangement of limit switch [FIG. 6] Schematic diagram of air spring and height adjustment mechanism when vehicle body is tilted [FIG. 7] When vehicle body is tilted Schematic diagram showing the operation of the limit switch of the vehicle [Fig. 8] Graph showing the vehicle body tilt command, the displacement of the air spring, and the operation of the limit switch [Fig. 9] When one of the front and rear bogie air cylinders does not expand Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the suspension of the vehicle body tilt. Fig. 10 is a sectional view of the rotary solenoid provided in the height control valve of the first embodiment. Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of limit switches. Limit switch operation Sectional view of a rotary solenoid provided in the schematic diagram 13 height control valve of the second embodiment shown EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle body, 2 ... Bogie, 3L, 3R ... Air spring, 4L, 4R ... Height adjustment rod, 5L, 5R ... Height control valve, 8 ... Height control valve valve rod, 9L, 9R ... Insulator, 10 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS Rotating member, 12 ... Air source, 14 ... Flow control valve, 16 ... Restriction, 18 ... Solenoid valve, 20 ... Control device, 30 ... Rotary solenoid, SW1, SW2 ... Limit switch

Claims (3)

The vertical displacement amount between the vehicle body and the carriage is changed to a height control valve via a height adjustment rod provided corresponding to each air spring on each air spring arranged between the vehicle body and the carriage. In a railcar air spring height control device equipped with a height adjustment mechanism capable of transmitting and adjusting the height of the air spring, the vertical displacement amount is transferred from the height adjustment rod to the height control valve. An electric rotary drive mechanism that can be returned to the initial state by a spring force , and rotatably supports the electric rotary drive mechanism in a waterproof case. The shaft of the electric rotary drive mechanism is connected to the height control valve. Connected to the valve stem, the tip position of the height adjustment rod fluctuates due to a change in the distance between the vehicle body and the carriage, and the electric rotary drive mechanism rotates integrally to rotate the valve rod, thereby controlling the height By operating the valve to control the supply and discharge of air to each air spring, The height is adjusted to make the vehicle height constant, the shaft is rotated by excitation of the electric rotation drive mechanism, the valve stem is rotated, and the height control valve is operated to connect each air spring. An air spring height control device for a railway vehicle characterized in that the vehicle body is inclined by controlling the supply and discharge of air to adjust the height of each air spring, and the inclined vehicle body is leveled . A rotating member provided with two limit switches for detecting the rotational position of the valve stem is fixed to the shaft, and the operating state of the electric rotary drive mechanism and the air are determined by a combination of output changes of the two limit switches. The air spring height control device for a railway vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the expansion and contraction state of the spring is monitored . The tip of the height adjusting rod and the electric rotary drive mechanism are connected via a lever, and the shaft and the valve rod are connected via a link lever . Air spring height control device for railway vehicles.

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