JP5706721B2 - Railway vehicle control system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a railway vehicle control system including a suspension device such as an air spring.

  In general, railway vehicles equipped with an air spring between the body and the carriage have a leveling valve (automatic height control valve) that controls the supply and discharge of compressed air to the air spring to maintain a constant vehicle height. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). This leveling valve opens and closes mechanically so that compressed air is supplied to and discharged from the air spring when a change in the height of the vehicle body due to increase or decrease of passengers is transmitted via the link mechanism, and the expansion and contraction of the air spring Automatically adjusts the vehicle height. However, since the air spring can be deformed not only in the vertical direction but also in the front / rear and left / right directions, it is difficult to measure the vehicle height simply and accurately by the method of detecting the height by the leveling valve, and a complicated mechanism is required. .

  On the other hand, a technique has been proposed in which a height sensor for detecting the height of the air spring is provided, and air supply / exhaust to the air spring is electrically controlled based on height information detected by the height sensor. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2). According to this, since the height of the air spring can be detected simply and accurately, it is possible to realize highly accurate and inexpensive vehicle height control.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-78877 JP-A-8-121521

  By the way, when the vehicle travels, as shown in FIG. 11, the vehicle body 201 swings around the axis in the vehicle longitudinal direction (X direction) or the vehicle body 201 swings around the vehicle width direction (Y direction) axis. Pitching or yawing in which the vehicle body 201 swings around an axis in the vertical direction (Z direction) can occur. In recent years, not only keeping the vehicle height constant, but also reducing rolling, pitching, yawing and various vibrations, and controlling the vehicle body inclination when passing a curve, etc. It is desired to perform highly functional vehicle body control in order to improve passenger comfort. However, for this purpose, the gyro sensor 206, the plurality of acceleration sensors 207, and the like must be separately attached, which increases the cost and occupies the vehicle-mounted space. Further, when calculating the displacement of the vehicle body 201 in a predetermined direction using the gyro sensor 207 or the acceleration sensor 206, complicated calculation is also required.

  On the other hand, the air spring device for supporting a vehicle body described in Patent Document 1 does not require a control circuit and an air circuit for opening and closing the exhaust solenoid valve, and has an exhaust valve incorporated in the air spring when the supercharged state occurs. It is mechanically open and does not disclose detecting horizontal displacement including front, rear, left and right of the vehicle.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses an air spring that can detect the height of the air spring with a simpler configuration than the prior art, but it cannot detect fluctuations in the horizontal direction of the vehicle and is in a running state. It is difficult to perform highly accurate body control according to the vehicle.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a railway vehicle control system that is simple and space-saving and capable of highly functional vehicle body control.

A railway vehicle control system according to the present invention is a railway vehicle control system applicable to a railway vehicle provided with a mechanism for elastically coupling a vehicle body and a bogie frame in a support structure from a wheel to a vehicle body . An upper wall portion provided; a lower wall portion provided in the carriage frame ; an air chamber as an elastic portion that elastically displaces the upper wall portion relative to the lower wall portion; and the upper wall portion. And an air spring device having an imaging unit attached to one side of the lower wall part and imaging the target on the other side through the air chamber and outputting an image signal, and an image signal output from the imaging unit Displacement for calculating a relative horizontal displacement amount and a relative horizontal displacement direction between the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion and a relative vertical displacement amount between the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion based on Calculated by the arithmetic device and the displacement arithmetic device And a, and a vehicle controller for the vehicle control in accordance with the serial relative horizontal displacement amount and the relative horizontal displacement direction and the relative vertical displacement.

According to the above configuration, the suspension device is provided with the imaging unit, and the relative horizontal displacement amount, the relative horizontal displacement direction, and the relative vertical displacement amount are calculated based on the image signal output by imaging the target. While being simple and space-saving, it is possible to detect the relative horizontal displacement amount, the relative horizontal displacement direction, and the relative vertical displacement amount with high accuracy. Then, if the relative horizontal displacement amount, the relative horizontal displacement direction and the relative vertical displacement amount between the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion of the suspension device are calculated, the vehicle body and the carriage frame sandwiching the suspension device of the railway vehicle Vehicle body control can be performed according to the relative horizontal displacement amount, the relative horizontal displacement direction and the relative vertical displacement amount between them, and more sophisticated vehicle body control is possible compared to control by vehicle height alone.

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the relative horizontal displacement amount, the relative horizontal displacement direction, and the relative vertical displacement amount can be detected with high accuracy while being simple and space-saving, and high-performance vehicle body control is achieved. It becomes possible.

1 is a side view showing a railway vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the rail vehicle shown in FIG. It is a principal part top view of the rail vehicle shown in FIG. It is a principal part side view of the rail vehicle shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the air spring apparatus of the rail vehicle shown in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. It is a top view of the target board shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the control system mounted in the rail vehicle shown in FIG. It is a front view explaining vehicle body tilt control of a vehicle. It is a partial cross section side view which shows the axial spring apparatus of the railway vehicle which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view explaining the vehicle body behavior of the conventional railway vehicle.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a side view showing a railway vehicle 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the railway vehicle 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of an essential part of the railway vehicle 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of a main part of the railway vehicle 1 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the vehicle longitudinal direction is the X direction, the vehicle width direction is the Y direction, and the vertical direction is the Z direction. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the railway vehicle 1 includes a vehicle body 2 in which a passenger cabin 4 in which passengers board is formed, and a pair of front and rear carriages 3 that support the vehicle body 2. The cart 3 includes four wheels 5 (front, rear, left and right), an axle 6 that connects the left and right wheels 5, a shaft box 7 that includes bearings that rotatably support both ends of the axle 6, and a traction device 11 (center). A bogie frame 9 connected to the vehicle body 2 via pins), four axial springs 8 on the front, rear, left and right, which are primary suspension devices that elastically couple the axle box 7 and the bogie frame 9, A pair of left and right air spring devices 10 which are secondary suspension devices that elastically couple to the vehicle body 2 are provided. That is, the support structure from the wheel 5 to the vehicle body 2 in the present embodiment includes the wheel 5, the axle 6, the axle box 7, the shaft spring 8, the bogie frame 9, the air spring device 10, and the vehicle body 2. In addition, since the air spring device 10 of this example is provided in a pair of left and right for one carriage 3, a total of four front and rear and right and left are provided for one vehicle body 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a vehicle body side bracket 12 is provided on the vehicle body 2, and a vehicle side bracket 13 is provided on the carriage frame 9. It is provided as a control unit. The vehicle width direction actuator 14 is an electric, hydraulic or pneumatic actuator that generates a horizontal linear motion in the vehicle width direction, and can move the vehicle body 2 relative to the carriage frame 9 in the horizontal direction. In addition, between each bracket 12 and 13, you may provide the damper which gives damping | damping effect | action to those relative motion, and you may provide the damper with control which can control the damping force of a damper.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a carriage side bracket 15 is provided on both left and right sides of the carriage frame 9, a vehicle body side bracket 16 is provided on the vehicle body 2, and each bracket 15, A vehicle longitudinal direction actuator 17 is interposed between 16 as a vehicle longitudinal direction motion control unit. The vehicle longitudinal actuator 17 is an electric, hydraulic or pneumatic actuator that generates a horizontal linear motion in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the vehicle body 2 is moved relative to the carriage frame 9 in the vehicle longitudinal direction or rotated in the horizontal direction. Can be made. In addition, between each bracket 15 and 16, you may provide the damper which gives a damping effect | action to those relative motion, and you may provide the damper with control which can control the damping force of a damper.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a damper 18 that generates a damping force in the vertical direction is interposed between the axle box 7 and the carriage frame 9 in parallel with the axle spring 8. Instead of the damper 18, a damper with control capable of controlling the damping force may be provided, or a vertical direction actuator may be provided as the vertical direction motion control unit.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the air spring device 10 of the railway vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the air spring device 10 includes an upper wall portion 21 that is integrally connected to the vehicle body 2, a lower wall portion 22 that is integrally connected to the carriage frame 9, and an upper wall portion 21. A cylindrical flexible film 23 that forms an air chamber 24 inside by airtightly connecting the peripheral end portion of the lower wall portion 22 and the peripheral end portion of the lower wall portion 22, and a cylindrical rubber laminate that supports the lower wall portion 22 A body 25 and a stopper plate 26 provided at the lower end of the rubber laminate 25 are provided. In the central portion of the upper wall portion 21, a supply / exhaust port 29 that allows the air supply valve 57 and the exhaust valve 58 (see FIG. 7) to communicate with the air chamber 24 is provided. Communication ports 27 and 28 for communicating the air chamber 24 and the auxiliary air chamber D (see FIG. 2) are provided at the center of the lower wall portion 22 and the stopper plate 26.

  In the air spring device 10 having the above-described configuration, the air chamber 24 is an elastic portion that elastically displaces the upper wall portion 21 relative to the lower wall portion 22. Further, by supplying compressed air from the supply / exhaust port 29 to the air chamber 24, the distance (that is, height) between the upper wall portion 21 and the lower wall portion 22 is increased, and the air is supplied from the supply / discharge port 29. By exhausting the compressed air in the chamber 24, the distance (that is, the height) between the upper wall portion 21 and the lower wall portion 22 is reduced. It is also possible to provide a variable throttle valve 19 (see FIG. 2) between the air chamber 24 and the auxiliary air chamber D so that the air spring device 10 itself functions as a variable damper.

  Further, the air spring device 10 is provided with two sets of CCD cameras 31, 32, 31 ′, 32 ′ and two LEDs 34, 35. The reason why two sets of CCD cameras 31, 32, 31 ′, and 32 ′ are provided is to prepare for the case where one set of CCD cameras breaks down. Even if only one set of CCD cameras 31, 32 is provided. Good. In the following, one set of CCD cameras 31 and 32 and one LED 34 will be described as a representative. A camera housing case 37 that forms a camera room 38 is provided on the upper wall portion 21. The camera room 38 is formed above the lower surface of the upper wall portion 21. A pair of small CCD cameras 31 and 32 are fixed to the wall surface of the camera room 38, and the CCD cameras 31 and 32 are arranged so as to photograph the lower part. The two CCD cameras 31 and 32 only need to be arranged at a distance from each other both in the circumferential direction and in the radial direction of the air spring device 10.

  The CCD cameras 31 and 32 are commercially available cameras that can capture a moving image by capturing a still image of a plurality of frames per second (for example, 60 frames per second). An opening H1 having a circular shape in plan view is formed in the upper wall portion 21 so as not to obstruct the photographing range of the CCD cameras 31 and 32. The peripheral edge 21a that defines the opening H1 of the upper wall portion 21 has a step that increases the diameter on the air chamber 24 side. A transparent plate 36 is fitted and fixed to the peripheral edge 21a of the upper wall portion 21 so as to close the opening H1. The peripheral edge 36 a of the transparent plate 36 has a step that increases the diameter on the air chamber 24 side so as to match the peripheral edge 21 a of the upper wall portion 21. The transparent plate 36 partitions the camera 31 and the air chamber 24. In addition, since the peripheral edge 21a, 36a of the upper wall part 21 and the transparent plate 36 has a level | step difference that the diameter by the side of the air chamber 24 becomes large, even if the air chamber 24 is high pressure, the transparent plate 36 does not remove | deviate. Note that although an example using a CCD sensor is shown in this embodiment, various imaging devices such as a camera using a CMOS sensor may be applied.

  The lower wall portion 22 is provided with a light source accommodation case 41 that forms a light source chamber 42. The light source 42 is formed below the upper surface of the lower wall portion 22. An LED 34 is fixed to the wall surface of the light source chamber 42 as a light source, and the LED 34 is arranged to illuminate the upper side. An opening H2 having a circular shape in plan view is formed in the lower wall portion 22 so as to transmit light from the LED 34 upward. The peripheral edge 22a that defines the opening H2 of the lower wall portion 22 has a step that increases the diameter on the air chamber 24 side. A transparent plate 40 is fitted and fixed to the peripheral edge 22a of the lower wall portion 22 so as to close the opening H2.

  The peripheral edge 40 a of the transparent plate 40 has a level difference that increases the diameter on the air chamber 24 side so as to match the peripheral edge 22 a of the lower wall portion 22. The transparent plate 40 partitions the LED 34 and the air chamber 24. An imaging target plate 33 is fixed to the upper surface of the lower wall portion 22 and the transparent plate 40. The target plate 33 is disposed so as to cover the communication port 28 at the center of the lower wall portion 22, and a communication port 33 b communicating with the communication port 28 is formed at the center of the target plate 33. That is, the air chamber 24 communicates with the auxiliary air chamber D (see FIG. 2) via the communication ports 27, 28, and 33a.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view of the target plate 33 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, in this example, the target plate 33 partially forms a geometric pattern as a target 33 c on the surface of the surface of the pair of CCD cameras 31 and 32, and the other parts. A geometric pattern is partially formed as a target 33d in a portion within the photographing range of the pair of CCD cameras 31 ′ and 32 ′. Specifically, in the target plate 33, light transmitting portions that can identify the four corners 33ca, 33cb, 33cc, 33cd and 33da, 33db, 33dc, 33dd and transmit light are used as the targets 33c, 33d. The portions other than the transmission portions 33c and 33d are light-shielding portions 33e that do not transmit light (the black portions in FIG. 7 are the light transmission portions 33c and 33d). The target is not particularly limited as long as it is a shape or pattern that can identify the four corners of the image taken by the CCD camera 31.

  As described above, the shapes of the targets 33c and 33d can be identified by the four corners 33ca to cd and 33da to dd. -It is possible to detect the amount of vertical relative displacement, relative rotation angle, relative tilt angle, and the like. Further, the air chamber 24 inside the air spring device 10 is dark, but by making the shapes of the targets 33c and 33d identifiable by transmitted light instead of reflected light, the CCD cameras 31, 32, 31 ′, and 32 ′ can be identified. Is also prevented from misidentifying others as targets.

  In the following, one set of CCD cameras 31 and 32 and one LED 34 will be described as a representative. In the air spring device 10 described above, the light from the LED 34 is transmitted through the transparent plate 40 and propagates to the target plate 33, so that the shape of the target 33c, which is a light transmitting portion, can be identified. The target 33c that appears on the surface of the target plate 33 through the air chamber 24, which is a closed space, can be photographed so as to be distinguishable with respect to the light shielding portion 33e.

  Further, in a state where the air spring device 10 is not displaced in the horizontal direction, the CCD cameras 31 and 32 are set to image the entire target 33c so that the center of the target 33c is arranged near the center of the image. Moreover, the CCD cameras 31 and 32 have the entire target 33c within the imaging range of each camera 31 and 32 with the upper wall portion 21 and the lower wall portion 22 being closest in design during normal use of the air spring device 10. It is set to fit. In the punctured state where air is extracted from the air chamber 24 of the air spring device 10, the entire target 33 c may not be within the imaging range of the cameras 31 and 32. The target plate 33 may not be necessarily provided, and the target may be formed directly on the transparent plate 40 or the shape of the transparent plate 40.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the control system 100 mounted on the railway vehicle 1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the railway vehicle control system 100 includes a left front air spring device 10LF provided on the left side of the front carriage 3 of the vehicle body 2 and a right front air spring provided on the right side of the front vehicle 3 of the vehicle body 2. A device 10RF, a left rear air spring device 10LR provided on the left side of the carriage 3 on the rear side of the vehicle body 2, and a right rear air spring device 10RR provided on the right side of the vehicle 3 on the rear side of the vehicle body 2 are provided. Yes. These air spring devices 10LF, 10RF, 10RF, 10RR also serve as a vertical actuator (vertical motion control unit) that can move the vehicle body 2 relative to the bogie frame 9 in the vertical direction.

  The air spring devices 10LF, 10RF, 10LR, and 10RR are provided with air supply valves 57LF, 57RF, 57LR, and 57RR that open and close an air supply passage for supplying compressed air from the compressor 56 to the air chamber 24, respectively. Yes. The air spring devices 10LF, 10RF, 10LR, and 10RR are provided with exhaust valves 58LF, 58RF, 58LR, and 58RR that open and close an exhaust passage for discharging the air in the air chamber 24 to the outside.

  Further, the vehicle width direction actuator 14 provided on the front carriage 3 is referred to as a front vehicle width direction actuator 14F, and the vehicle width direction actuator 14 provided on the rear carriage 3 is referred to as a rear vehicle width direction actuator 14R. Also, the vehicle longitudinal direction actuators 17 provided on the left and right sides of the front carriage 3 are respectively referred to as the left front vehicle longitudinal actuator 14LF and the right front vehicle longitudinal actuator 14RF, and the vehicle longitudinal directions provided on the left and right sides of the rear carriage 3 are respectively. The actuators 17 are a left rear front vehicle longitudinal actuator 14RF and a right rear vehicle longitudinal actuator 14RR, respectively.

  The railway vehicle control system 100 includes first and second left front CCD cameras 31LF and 32LF provided in the left front air spring device 10LF, and first and second right front CCD cameras 31RF and 32RF provided in the right front air spring device 10RF. The first and second left rear CCD cameras 31LR and 32LR provided in the left rear air spring device 10LR, and the first and second right rear CCD cameras 31RR and 32RR provided in the right rear air spring device 10RR are provided. ing. These CCD cameras 31LF, 32LF, 31RF, 32RF, 31LR, 32LR, 31RR, and 32RR are connected to the controller 50. The system 100 does not include an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor. In FIG. 8, the set of CCD cameras 31 and 32 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is described as a representative, and the description of another set of CCD cameras 31 'and 32' is omitted.

  The controller 50 includes a left front displacement calculator 51, a right front displacement calculator 52, a left rear displacement calculator 53, a right rear displacement calculator 54, and a vehicle controller 55. The left front displacement calculation unit 51 processes images taken by the first and second left front CCD cameras 31LF and 32LF in time series, and between the upper wall portion 21 and the lower wall portion 22 in the left front air spring device 10LF. A relative horizontal displacement amount and a relative horizontal displacement direction are calculated, and a relative vertical displacement amount between the upper wall portion 21 and the lower wall portion 22 is calculated. The right front displacement calculation unit 52 processes the images taken by the first and second left front CCD cameras 31RF and 32RF in time series, and between the upper wall portion 21 and the lower wall portion 22 in the right front air spring device 10RF. A relative horizontal displacement amount and a relative horizontal displacement direction are calculated, and a relative vertical displacement amount between the upper wall portion 21 and the lower wall portion 22 is calculated.

  The left rear displacement calculation unit 53 processes the images taken by the first and second left front CCD cameras 31LR and 32LR in time series, and the upper wall portion 21 and the lower wall portion 22 of the left rear air spring device 10LR are processed. A relative horizontal displacement amount and a relative horizontal displacement direction are calculated, and a relative vertical displacement amount between the upper wall portion 21 and the lower wall portion 22 is calculated. The right rear displacement calculation unit 54 processes the images taken by the first and second left front CCD cameras 31RR and 32RR in time series, and determines the upper wall 21 and the lower wall 22 of the right rear air spring device 10RR. A relative horizontal displacement amount and a relative horizontal displacement direction are calculated, and a relative vertical displacement amount between the upper wall portion 21 and the lower wall portion 22 is calculated. The relative horizontal displacement direction is such that when the upper wall portion 21 and the lower wall portion 22 are relatively horizontally displaced, either the upper wall portion 21 or the lower wall portion 22 is displaced relative to the other. It is good to obtain | require by specifying the direction to do as one angle of the 360-degree angle range on a horizontal surface.

  Specifically, each of the displacement calculation units 51 to 54 includes the reference position, the movement amount and the movement direction in the image of the target 33c on the images photographed by the two CCD cameras 31 and 32, and the actual upper wall portion 21. The correlation between the relative reference position, the relative displacement amount, and the relative displacement direction between the lower wall portion 22 and the lower wall portion 22 is stored in advance in a memory. And each displacement calculating part 51-54 processes the image image | photographed with the two CCD cameras 31 and 32 by the predetermined sampling rate (60 frames per second), and refers the said correlation. Thus, the actual relative horizontal displacement amount, relative displacement direction, and relative vertical displacement amount of the lower wall portion 22 with respect to the upper wall portion 21 are calculated.

  The displacement calculation units 51 to 54 process the images from the two CCD cameras 31 and 32 to calculate the displacement amount and the displacement direction. However, the displacement calculation units 51 to 54 process the images from one CCD camera to calculate the displacement amount. Further, the displacement direction may be calculated. In that case, the relative vertical displacement amount may be obtained from the change in the size of the target on the captured image, and the calculation of the horizontal displacement amount can be reduced by making the target spherical. If the distance between the upper wall and the lower wall of the air spring is small and the relative horizontal displacement is large, a wide-angle lens may be used. However, when the image is taken with a wide-angle lens, distortion around the image occurs, and therefore it is necessary to perform distortion correction using known software or the like. FIG. 7 shows an example of the shape of the target, but the present invention is not limited to this. Further, a displacement amount and a displacement direction calculated by processing an image from one set of CCD cameras 31 and 32, and a displacement calculated by processing an image from another set of CCD cameras 31 ′ and 32 ′. If the amount and the displacement direction differ beyond a predetermined error range, the controller 50 may determine that an error has occurred.

  The vehicle control unit 55 controls supply / exhaust of the air spring devices 10LF, 10RF, 10LR, and 10RR based on the relative horizontal displacement amount, the relative horizontal displacement direction, and the relative vertical displacement amount calculated by the displacement calculation units 51 to 54. At the same time, the driving of the vehicle width direction actuators 14F, 14R and the vehicle longitudinal direction actuators 17LF, 17RF, 17LR, 17RR is controlled.

  For example, when the vehicle control unit 55 detects that the yawing that rotates around the Z axis from the relative horizontal displacement amount and the relative horizontal displacement direction calculated by each of the displacement calculation units 51 to 54 has occurred, In order to achieve an appropriate state, the vehicle width direction actuators 14F and 14R and the vehicle longitudinal direction actuators 17LF, 17RF, 17LR and 17RR are controlled (yaw control).

  Further, when the vehicle control unit 55 detects that the horizontal vibration is generated from the relative horizontal displacement amount and the relative horizontal displacement direction calculated by the displacement calculation units 51 to 54, the vehicle control unit 55 sets the vibration to a predetermined appropriate state. Therefore, the vehicle width direction actuators 14F and 14R and the vehicle longitudinal direction actuators 17LF, 17RF, 17LR and 17RR are controlled (vibration control), respectively. Further, when the vehicle control unit 55 detects that the vertical vibration is generated from the relative vertical displacement amount calculated by each of the displacement calculation units 51 to 54, the air supply valve is set to bring the vibration into a predetermined appropriate state. 57LF, 57RF, 57LR, 57RR and exhaust valves 58LF, 58RF, 58LR, 58RR are controlled (vibration control).

  In addition, when the vehicle control unit 55 detects that rolling that rotates around the X axis has occurred from the relative vertical displacement amounts calculated by the displacement calculation units 51 to 54, the vehicle control unit 55 should set the rolling to a predetermined appropriate state. The air supply valves 57LF, 57RF, 57LR, 57RR and the exhaust valves 58LF, 58RF, 58LR, 58RR are respectively controlled (rolling control). In addition, when the vehicle control unit 55 detects that the pitching that rotates around the Y axis has occurred from the relative vertical displacement amount calculated by each of the displacement calculation units 51 to 54, the vehicle control unit 55 should set the pitching to a predetermined appropriate state. The air supply valves 57LF, 57RF, 57LR, 57RR and the exhaust valves 58LF, 58RF, 58LR, 58RR are controlled (pitching control).

  Moreover, the vehicle control part 55 may function as a vehicle body tilt control apparatus using an air spring. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when the vehicle travels on a curve, the left and right air spring heights are changed, and the vehicle is tilted inward to reduce the acceleration to the outside of the curve due to lack of cant. can do. In other words, the vehicle control unit 55 determines the relative inclination calculated by the displacement calculation units 51 to 54 so that the actual vehicle body inclination angle becomes the target inclination angle calculated from the running speed, the curve of the track, and the rail cant deficiency. The supply valves 57LF, 57RF, 57LR, 57RR and the exhaust valves 58LF, 58RF, 58LR, 58RR may be controlled based on the vertical displacement amount.

  According to the configuration described above, the air spring device 10 is provided with the CCD cameras 31 and 32, and the image obtained by photographing the target plate 33 is processed to calculate the relative horizontal displacement amount, the relative horizontal displacement direction, and the relative vertical displacement amount. Therefore, the relative horizontal displacement amount, the relative horizontal displacement direction, and the relative vertical displacement amount can be detected with high accuracy while being simple and space-saving. Since the relative horizontal displacement amount and the relative horizontal displacement direction between the upper wall portion 21 and the lower wall portion 22 of the air spring device 10 are calculated, the space between the vehicle body 2 and the carriage frame 9 with the air spring device 10 interposed therebetween. The vehicle body control can be performed in accordance with the relative horizontal displacement amount and the relative horizontal displacement direction of the vehicle, and a highly functional vehicle body control can be performed as compared with the control based on the vehicle height alone. Further, since the CCD cameras 31 and 32 and the target plate 33 are incorporated in the air spring device 10 and are shielded from the outside world, it is possible to prevent dirt from adhering and hitting objects, thereby reducing the need for maintenance. it can. Further, high-frequency minute displacement can be detected by processing still images photographed by the CCD cameras 31 and 32 every minute time in time series, and high-precision control can be performed.

  Conventionally, in order to detect rolling / pitching / yawing, an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration in the up / down / left / right / front / rear direction is used at the front / rear / left / right of the vehicle body, or up / down / left / right / front / rear at the center of the vehicle body Whereas it is necessary to use a gyro sensor that detects the rotation of the direction, the configuration of this embodiment can directly measure the relative movement amount between the vehicle body 2 and the carriage 3, It is possible to detect rolling / pitching / yawing without using a gyro sensor. Then, when calculating the relative displacement amount of the vehicle body in the rolling / pitching / yawing direction using the acceleration sensor, it is necessary to use the double integration of the acceleration. Since the relative displacement amount can be detected, the processing speed is greatly improved, and high speed control can be achieved.

  Further, since the relative displacement amount can be directly detected at high speed including vibrations such as rolling / pitching / yawing, the actuator 10 provided in the front / rear / left / right / up / down directions between the vehicle body 2 and the carriage 3; By performing active damper control by 14 and 17 and passive damper control by a damper with a control throttle valve, it becomes possible to reduce more advanced vertical vibrations and improve riding comfort.

  Further, in the case of the present system 100, not only rolling / pitching / yawing, but also a simple back and forth movement between the vehicle body 2 and the carriage 3, a simple horizontal movement to the outside of the curve in the curved section, and the vehicle body 2 moving up and down The relative displacement can be measured directly even when a vibration that vibrates in the vehicle occurs. Therefore, by suppressing the vehicle body vibration using an active damper or a passive damper between the vehicle body 2 and the carriage 3, Riding comfort can also be improved.

  In addition, when the vehicle control unit 55 is used as a vehicle body tilt control device, the tilt angle can be determined by direct detection, compared to the case where the vehicle tilt angle is calculated using a lateral acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor. Since the determination can be made at high speed, the target vehicle body inclination angle can be detected without delay.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing an axial spring device 60 of a railway vehicle according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In addition, about the structure which is common in 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted. As shown in FIG. 11, in this embodiment, a pair of CCD cameras 68 and 69, a target plate 66, and an LED 65 are added to a shaft spring device 60 that is a primary suspension device that elastically couples the carriage frame 9 and the axle box 7. Is provided. The shaft spring device 60 is a shaft beam type and includes a coil spring 8 interposed between the bogie frame 9 (side beam) and the shaft box 7. On the side of the coil spring 8, a bracket 9 b provided on the carriage frame 9 and a bracket 7 a provided on the axle box 7 are connected by a damper 67.

  The carriage frame 9 has a cover portion 9a having a concave reverse cross section that covers the coil spring 8 from above. The cover portion 9a includes a ceiling portion 9c disposed above the coil spring 8 and having a central opening 9e, and a cylindrical portion 9d that protrudes downward from the peripheral end portion of the ceiling portion 9c and hides the side of the coil spring 8. doing. On the lower surface of the ceiling portion 9c, an upper wall portion 61 that is an annular pedestal that supports the upper end of the coil spring 8 is provided. A sealing member 62 is attached to the central opening 61a of the upper base 61 from above. CCD cameras 68 and 69 having the same configuration as in the first embodiment are fixed to the lower surface of the sealing member 62 so as to photograph the lower part.

  A lower wall portion 64 that is a pedestal that supports the lower end of the coil spring 8 is provided on the upper surface of the axle box 7. The lower wall portion 64 has a protruding portion 64a protruding upward in the space surrounded by the coil spring 8 at the center, and a through space 64b penetrating vertically is formed in the protruding portion 64a. Yes. A target plate 66 having a geometric pattern on the surface of a light-transmitting light guide plate is fixed to the annular upper end surface of the protrusion 64a. And LED65 is provided in the penetration space 64b so that the target board 66 may be illuminated from the downward direction. The CCD cameras 68 and 69 and the target plate 66 are disposed in a space surrounded by the upper wall portion 61, the sealing member 62, the coil spring 8, and the lower wall portion 64, and above the lower end of the cover portion 9a. Is located.

  By calculating both the relative vertical displacement amount in the air spring device 10 and the relative vertical displacement amount in the shaft spring device 60, the height from the wheel 5 to the vehicle body 2 is obtained, and the vehicle height control is performed by the vehicle body control unit 55. Good. Further, for example, the controller 50 may perform the vehicle body control by grasping the interaction between the vibration of the air spring device 10 and the vibration of the shaft spring device 60.

  Note that dirt and water droplets may enter the coil spring from the outside, and dirt may adhere to the CCD camera and LED. Therefore, a dust guard may be provided on the coil spring, or a blower or the like may be provided for blowing dust using the vertical movement of the carriage.

  According to the above-described configuration, the CCD camera 68, 69 can easily calculate the relative vertical displacement direction between the upper wall portion 61 and the lower wall portion 64 of the shaft spring device 60 for advanced vehicle control. Can be used. Moreover, since the CCD cameras 68 and 69 are provided in the shaft spring device 60 and the image obtained by photographing the target plate 66 is processed, it is possible to detect the relative vertical displacement direction with high accuracy while being simple and space-saving. It becomes. In addition, since the CCD cameras 68 and 69 and the target plate 66 are incorporated in the shaft spring device 60, it is possible to reduce the necessity of maintenance by suppressing the adhesion of dirt and the contact with objects.

  Further, both the relative vertical displacement amount in the air spring device 10 and the relative vertical displacement amount in the shaft spring device 60 are calculated, and both values are used for vehicle body height control, so that the control accuracy is improved. be able to. That is, in the past, only the detection of the height of the air spring was performed, but according to the present system, the height of the shaft spring device 60 that is the primary suspension (the height of the carriage frame 9 relative to the shaft box 7) It is possible to simultaneously detect both the height of the air spring device 10 that is the next suspension (the height of the vehicle body 2 with respect to the bogie frame 9) at a high speed, and the change in the height of the shaft spring device 60 that is the primary suspension. In addition, the height adjustment of the entire spring system can be realized, and it becomes possible to perform vehicle height control with higher accuracy than ever before.

  Further, by detecting both the height of the shaft spring device 60 and the height of the air spring device 10 at the same time, and detecting the entire height of the bogie spring system (air spring height + shaft spring height), the vehicle body control is performed. When the unit 55 is used as a vehicle body tilt control device, high-speed and highly accurate air spring type vehicle body tilt control can be performed.

  In the conventional railway vehicle, the vehicle height is controlled by detecting only a change in the height of the air spring and adjusting the internal pressure of the air spring. However, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, only the height of the air spring is controlled. In addition, the height of the shaft spring can be detected. As a result, the gap between the floor of the vehicle body cabin and the platform generated by the railway company or the region is high, and even if a different gap occurs between the same railway company or region, the gap is eliminated. It can be accurately controlled and is very effective as a barrier-free measure.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the configuration can be changed, added, or deleted without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The above embodiments may be arbitrarily combined with each other. For example, some configurations or methods in one embodiment may be applied to other embodiments.

  As described above, the railway vehicle control system according to the present invention has an excellent effect that the relative horizontal displacement is detected with high accuracy while being simple and space-saving, and high-performance vehicle body control is possible. It is beneficial to apply widely to railway vehicles that can demonstrate the significance of the effect.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Railcar 2 Car body 3 Bogie 10 Air spring device 14 Horizontal actuator 21, 61 Upper wall part 22, 64 Lower wall part 23 Cylindrical flexible film 24 Air chamber 31, 32, 68, 69 CCD camera 33, 66 Target plate 34 LED
36 Transparent Plate 50 Controller 51-54 Displacement Calculation Unit 55 Vehicle Control Unit 60 Axle Spring Device 100 Railway Vehicle Control System

Claims (9)

A railway vehicle control system applicable to a railway vehicle provided with a mechanism for elastically coupling a vehicle body and a bogie frame in a support structure from a wheel to a vehicle body,
An upper wall portion provided on the vehicle body , a lower wall portion provided on the carriage frame , an air chamber as an elastic portion for elastically displacing the upper wall portion with respect to the lower wall portion, and An air spring device having an imaging unit that is attached to either one of the upper wall part and the lower wall part and images the target on the other side through the air chamber and outputs an image signal;
Based on the image signal output from the imaging unit, a relative horizontal displacement amount and a relative horizontal displacement direction between the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion, and between the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion. A displacement calculation device for calculating a relative vertical displacement amount;
A railway vehicle control system comprising: a vehicle control device that performs vehicle control in accordance with the relative horizontal displacement amount, the relative horizontal displacement direction, and the relative vertical displacement amount calculated by the displacement calculation device. The railway vehicle control system according to claim 1 , wherein the air spring device includes a transparent plate that partitions the imaging unit and the air chamber. The air spring device, the target has a light source capable of irradiating light, railway vehicle control system according to claim 1 or 2. A vehicle width direction movement control unit capable of adjusting movement of the vehicle body in the vehicle width direction relative to the bogie frame ;
The suspension devices are respectively arranged on the front, rear, left and right with respect to the vehicle body ,
The displacement calculation device calculates a relative horizontal displacement amount and a relative horizontal displacement direction based on the image signals output from the imaging units of the front, rear, left, and right suspension devices,
The railway vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the vehicle control device controls the vehicle width direction motion control unit in accordance with each of the relative horizontal displacement amount and the relative horizontal displacement direction. The railway vehicle control system according to claim 4 , wherein the vehicle width direction motion control unit is an actuator or a damper capable of controlling a damping force. A vehicle longitudinal movement control unit capable of adjusting the movement of the vehicle body in the vehicle longitudinal direction relative to the bogie frame ;
The suspension devices are respectively arranged on the front, rear, left and right with respect to the vehicle body ,
The displacement calculation device calculates a relative horizontal displacement amount and a relative horizontal displacement direction based on the image signals output from the imaging units of the front, rear, left, and right suspension devices,
The railway vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the vehicle control device controls the vehicle width direction motion control unit according to each of the relative horizontal displacement amount and the relative horizontal displacement direction. The railway vehicle control system according to claim 6 , wherein the vehicle longitudinal motion control unit is an actuator or a damper capable of controlling a damping force. A vertical motion control unit capable of adjusting a vertical motion of the vehicle body relative to the bogie frame ;
The suspension devices are respectively arranged on the front, rear, left and right with respect to the vehicle body ,
The displacement calculation device calculates a relative vertical displacement amount based on image signals output from the imaging units of the front, rear, left, and right suspension devices,
The railway vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the vehicle control device controls the vertical motion control unit in accordance with each of the relative vertical displacement amounts. Railway vehicle control system applicable to a railway vehicle further comprising a shaft box including a bearing that rotatably supports the wheel, and a mechanism that elastically couples the bogie frame and the bearing in the support structure from the wheel to the vehicle body. Because
A bogie frame upper wall portion provided in the bogie frame , a shaft box lower wall portion provided in the axle box, and the bogie frame upper wall portion are elastically displaced relative to the axle box lower wall portion. An axial spring device;
An imaging unit for an axial spring device, which is attached to either one of the upper wall portion of the carriage frame and the lower wall portion of the axle box and images the target on the other side through the inside of the axial spring device and outputs an image signal. In addition,
The displacement calculation device further calculates a relative vertical displacement amount between the bogie frame upper wall portion and the axle box lower wall portion based on an image signal output from the imaging portion for the shaft spring device ,
The vehicle control device, calculated by the displacement calculation unit, and the relative horizontal displacement amount and the relative horizontal displacement direction of the air spring device and the relative vertical displacement, and the relative vertical displacement amount in the axial spring device railway vehicle control system according to any one of performing vehicle control, claims 1 to 8 in accordance with the.

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