JP6484442B2 - Air spring - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air spring used for trucks and buses such as automobiles and railway vehicles, and more specifically, a cylindrical rubber film, and a large-diameter plate-like member hermetically joined to one end portion in the axial direction thereof. A piston that is airtightly joined to the other end of the cylindrical rubber film in the axial direction, and is capable of rolling and guiding an inverted cylinder portion that is folded back at the other end side with the elastic deformation of the cylindrical rubber film. The present invention relates to an air spring having a peripheral surface formed on a piston.

  As this type of air spring, one disclosed in Patent Document 1 (FIGS. 1 and 6, etc.) is known. That is, the air spring A includes a vertical cylindrical diaphragm (an example of a cylindrical rubber film) 1 that constitutes a wall portion of the first internal space S1 that is a gas chamber, and a diaphragm 1 having a longitudinal axis P thereof. A large-diameter bead portion (an example of one end portion) formed at the upper end and a disk-shaped upper plate (an example of a large-diameter plate member) 2 that is caulked and fixed to 1A, and a small-diameter bead portion formed at the lower end of the diaphragm 1 (An example of the other end portion) It is configured to include a piston 3 that is closely fitted to 1B.

The upper plate 2 is fixed to a member on the upper side of a spring such as a vehicle body frame, and the piston 3 is used by being attached to a member on the lower side of a spring such as an axle that supports a wheel. The air spring A is suspended by the volume change of the first internal space S1 of the diaphragm 1. In order to prevent the air spring A from bottoming out due to traveling on uneven ground on a road surface or traveling on an undulating road surface when riding a full passenger. The elastic stopper 6 is provided on the piston.
That is, when the upper plate 2 is excessively lowered due to a large load or the like, the elastic stopper 6 is brought into contact with the air spring A and the elastic stopper 6 to be suspended.

And in patent document 1, the stopper 6 is attached to the piston upper end via the bead presser disk 13 with the some volt | bolt (without reference). However, it seems troublesome and time-consuming to attach an elastic stopper that functions only temporarily, using a plurality of bolts. In addition, since the bolt is installed in a state where the diaphragm inner space requiring airtightness is connected to the outside, a structure that wipes out the risk of air leakage, such as the provision of a seal ring, is adopted. There is an expensive feeling in terms of cost.

  Therefore, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, a structure in which the elastic stopper 5 is attached with a single bolt (not indicated) and a nut arranged at the center has been tried. As shown in FIG. 1 and the like of Patent Document 2, the bolt is mounted in a state of being embedded in the elastic stopper 5, so that there is no risk of air leakage. Therefore, the elastic stopper mounting structure is advantageous in that the number of parts is small and the assembly work is simplified.

However, in the structure shown in Patent Document 2, that is, the structure in which the elastic stopper 5 is fixed to the support portion with a single bolt, the elastic stopper 5 is rotated and rotated by the torque of the bolt tightening operation, or due to running vibration. There is a possibility that the product may rotate and move freely as long as it does not rotate and is not relatively tightened. When the rotational movement occurs, there are disadvantages such as a place that is not originally rubbed may be rubbed, or an extra tightening torque is required and the assembling work becomes difficult.
Further, when the elastic stopper has a shape that is not point-symmetric when viewed in the axial direction, it is likely to cause inconvenience that the elastic stopper cannot be assembled at the expected position or posture by rotating.

JP 2011-190883 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-042852

Such inconvenience due to the rotational movement is likely to occur in the same way even when mounting by one of riveting or caulking (caulking) stopping means.
Therefore, the configuration in which the elastic stopper is mounted by one mounting means can provide a good assembling last name and cost merit, but there is still room for further improvement in terms of preventing rotational movement during assembly. It was what was.

  An object of the present invention is to devise a configuration in which the elastic stopper that acts at the time of heavy load is fixed by one mounting means having many advantages as described above, and thereby the elastic stopper and the support portion do not move relative to each other. Thus, an improved air spring is provided.

The invention according to claim 1 includes a cylindrical rubber film 1, a large-diameter plate-like member 2 hermetically joined to one end in the axial center P direction of the cylindrical rubber film 1, and the axial center P direction of the cylindrical rubber film 1. A peripheral surface 3c having a piston 3 hermetically joined to an end portion and capable of rolling and guiding an inverted cylindrical portion 1C formed by folding the other end side with elastic deformation of the cylindrical rubber film 1; In the air spring formed on the piston 3,
One of the piston 3 and the large-diameter plate-like member 2 is applied to either one of the piston 3 and the large-diameter plate-like member 2 as the distance in the axis P direction decreases by a predetermined amount. An elastic stopper 14 is provided for contact,
The elastic stopper 14 includes a base plate 16 attached to the support portion 9 fixed to the one side by one attachment means 15 and an elastic portion 17 integrated with the base plate 16.
One of the support portion 9 and the base plate 16 is locally plastically deformed, and a projection t formed so as to protrude and a recess u formed on either one of the support portion 9 and the base plate 16 are fitted into the one portion. An anti-rotation mechanism r that prevents relative rotation between the support portion 9 and the base plate 16 caused by the attachment means 15 is configured.
The back side of the convex portion t or the concave portion u formed on the base plate 16 is covered with the elastic portion 17.

The invention according to claim 2 is the air spring according to claim 1,
The support portion 9 is fixed to the piston 3, and the one attachment means 15 is constituted by a screw provided in a direction along the axis P.

The invention according to claim 3 is the air spring according to claim 1 or 2,
The concave portion u is formed in the support portion 9, and the convex portion t is formed in the base plate 16 .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the elastic stopper including the base plate attached to the support portion by one attachment means and the elastic portion integrated with the base plate is supported by the rotation prevention mechanism. This prevents the relative rotation of the part and the base plate from occurring.
Therefore, even if the mounting bolt is turned in the tightening direction to assemble the elastic stopper, the base plate and the support part cannot be rotated around the shaft center. Relative rotational movement between the support portion and the base plate due to one mounting means such as relative rotational movement accompanying loosening of the mounting bolt is prevented.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the back side of the convex portion formed on the base portion is covered with the elastic portion, the vibration damping action by the elastic portion can occur in the convex portion, and contact with the concave portion. There is an advantage that abnormal noise generation due to can be suppressed or eliminated.

As a result, while adopting a configuration in which the elastic stopper that acts under heavy loads is fixed with "one mounting means" that has the advantage that the number of parts is low and the assembly work is simplified, during further assembly operations, A further improved air spring can be provided by devising not to rotate.
In this case, if the elastic stopper is attached to the support portion, which is a member on the piston side, by one screw as in claim 2, it is easy to perform the assembly work of the elastic stopper to the support portion.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the anti-rotation mechanism has a structure in which a concave portion by a hole is formed in the support portion, and a convex portion is formed in the base plate. Therefore, the recess can be easily and inexpensively formed by the hole, and there is an additional advantage that there is no risk of air leakage between the inner space of the diaphragm and the outside due to the hole.

Sectional drawing which shows the structure of an air spring (Embodiment 1) Action diagram showing piston and elastic stopper in the air spring of FIG. Action diagram showing the state change of the air spring accompanying rolling Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the air spring by Embodiment 2. Plan view of the air spring of FIG. Schematic diagram of the main part showing an example of a structure in which an air spring is used in a non-step bath Cross section of air spring showing another structure of detent mechanism

  In the following, embodiments of the air spring according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, which are suitable for buses and trucks.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the air spring A according to the first embodiment includes a diaphragm (an example of a cylindrical rubber film) 1 having a longitudinal axis P and an upper end (one end in the direction of the axis P). An upper plate (an example of a large-diameter plate member) 2 having an axis Y that is hermetically joined to an example) and a piston that is hermetically joined to the lower end of the diaphragm 1 (an example of the other end in the direction of the axis P). The piston 3 is formed with a main circumferential surface 3c capable of rolling and guiding an inverted tube portion 1C formed by folding back the lower end side as the diaphragm 1 is elastically deformed. The piston 3 is a component included in the lower structure a constituting the air spring A.

  FIG. 6 shows an arrangement structure example of the air spring A in a low floor bus (which may be a rail car, a truck, or the like). The upper plate 2 is attached to the lower surface 11 a of the tire house portion 11 in the vehicle body 10 via the frame F. An upper bead portion 1A (see FIG. 1) of the diaphragm 1 is supported on the upper plate 2 having one or a plurality of fixing bolts 4 and an air passage tube 19, and is attached to the frame F by the fixing bolts 4. Yes.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the piston 3 attached to the leg member 13 on the axle 12 is composed of two members, a relatively thin main body cylinder portion 3A and a relatively thick pedestal portion 3B. It is configured by integration. The main body cylinder portion 3A includes a ring-shaped hollow upper wall 3a on which the lower bead portion 1B of the diaphragm 1 is mounted, a top ring portion 3b that continues from the outer circumference to one end, and a slightly lower portion that continues from the top ring portion 3b. An expanded main peripheral surface (main peripheral wall) 3c and a lower expanded tapered peripheral wall 3d continuing from the main peripheral surface 3c are formed.
The pedestal portion 3B is formed in a deep dish-like member having a large-diameter flange portion 3e, a peripheral side wall 3f, and a bottom wall 3g.

The main body cylinder portion 3A and the pedestal portion 3B are integrated by welding or the like in a state in which the peripheral side wall 3f is fitted in the hollow upper wall 3a, whereby the lower bead portion 1B is fitted and fitted (notation) (Not shown) is configured.
A bottom plate 6 with a central hole 6a is integrated by welding or the like through a cylindrical lower pipe member 5 on the lower surface side of the bottom wall 3g. A plurality of bolts 7 are fixed to the bottom plate 6, and are fixed to the leg members 13 by screws, for example, as shown in FIG. 6.

  On the upper surface side of the bottom wall 3g, an upper pipe material 8 made of the same material as the lower pipe material 5 is integrated by welding or the like in a standing state, and a thick mounting plate (an example of a support portion) is formed at the upper end thereof. ) 9 is integrated. An elastic stopper 14 is attached to the mounting plate 9 so as to be placed on the upper surface thereof. As described above, the elastic stopper 14 is placed and supported on the lower structure a including the bottom plate 6, the piston 3, the upper pipe member 8, and the like.

  In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted for the lower structure a, the bottom wall 3g is made into the cyclic | annular thing which has a large hole in the center, and one pipe material equivalent to the upper pipe material 8 and the lower pipe material 5 is made into the bottom wall. It is possible to use a structure that is arranged through 3 g of the large holes. In this case, as in the lower structure a having the structure shown in FIG. 1, in order to make the inside and outside of the piston 3 sealed, the bottom wall with a large hole and one pipe material are welded all around. What is necessary is just to seal by such as.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the elastic stopper 14 includes, for example, a base plate (base portion) 16 made of sheet metal, which is attached to the mounting plate 9 by a single mounting bolt (an example of one mounting means) 15. For example, the elastic member 17 made of rubber is integrated with the base plate 16.
The elastic portion 17 has a circular donut shape as viewed in the direction of the axis P, and is integrated with the circular base plate 16 as viewed in the direction of the axis P by vulcanization adhesion or the like.

  A vertical mounting bolt (an example of a “screw provided in a direction along the axis P”) 15 disposed in the central space 130 of the elastic portion 17 is a hole (formed in one central portion of the base plate 16). It is screwed to the female thread portion (not shown) of the mounting plate 9 with (or without) a flat washer or a spring washer. The elastic stopper 14 is supported on the piston 3 (on the lower structure a) by this one bolting structure with the axis P as the center.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a circular protrusion (an example of a convex portion t) 16 </ b> A integrally formed on a base plate (an example of “one”) and a mounting plate (an example of “the other”) The anti-rotation mechanism r that prevents the relative rotation movement of the mounting plate 9 and the base plate 16 caused by the mounting bolts 15 is configured by fitting with a circular hole (an example of the concave portion u) 9A formed in 9. Yes.
“Relative rotational movement caused by the mounting bolt 15” means the accompanying phenomenon accompanying the tightening torque due to the turning operation in the tightening direction, the relative rotational movement around the axis P due to running vibration, or the risk thereof, or attachment A relative rotational movement accompanying the loosening of the bolt 15 can be considered.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the protrusion 16 </ b> A is formed so as to protrude downward by being locally plastically deformed by punch pressing to one place around the axis P in the base plate 16. Rubber forming the elastic portion 17 enters the recessed portion 16a on the upper side (back side) of the protrusion 16A. The circular hole 9 </ b> A is formed by a circular through hole formed in the mounting plate 9 along the axis P direction.

Due to the presence of the anti-rotation mechanism r, the base plate 16 and the mounting plate 9 cannot be rotated around the axis P even if the mounting bolt 15 is turned in the tightening direction to assemble the elastic stopper 14. The possibility that the elastic stopper 14 is rotated by the torque is eliminated.
Further, there is no possibility that the base plate 16 and the mounting plate 9 are relatively rotated due to the loosening of the mounting bolt 15 due to running vibration.
The effect that the elastic stopper 14 does not rotate despite the fact that it is attached with one mounting bolt 15 is that the shape of the elastic stopper 14 in plan view is not symmetrical and has directionality ( (See FIGS. 4 and 5 to be described later).

The air spring A according to the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is different from the air spring A according to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the arrangement structure of the upper plate 2, the structure and shape of the elastic stopper 14, and the top. The pipe material 8 and the diaphragm 1 are the same except that their lengths are different.
The elastic stopper 14 of this different structure is a rubber lump that has a C-shape in plan view by cutting a part of the elastic portion 17 shown in FIGS. It is. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the detent mechanism r is configured at a position moved 90 degrees around the axis P from that shown in FIG. The structure itself is the same as that shown in FIG. 1, and the structure in which the rubber of the elastic portion 17 enters the recessed portion 16a is also the same.

  In the air spring A according to the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the elastic stopper 14 needs to be attached to the attachment plate 9 with the attachment bolt 15 by determining the direction around the axis P with respect to the piston 3. Since the air spring A is also provided with a rotation prevention mechanism r by fitting the protrusion 16A and the circular hole 9A, not only the above-mentioned effect of the rotational movement but also the positioning function is exhibited. It is an excellent product with the advantages that can be achieved. Next, the function of the elastic stopper 14 will be described.

The elastic stopper 14 mainly supports the upper plate 2 elastically in place of the suspension action (air suspension) by the air of the diaphragm 1 when the diaphragm 1 is in a deflated state (air bleeding or puncture). In addition, it functions as a protective member that prevents the lower structure a from directly pushing up the upper plate 2 and damaging the air spring A when excessively cushioned in the sinking direction.
The air spring A in FIG. 1 shows a state in which the inverted tube portion 1C is located on the main peripheral surface 3c, and the axis Y of the upper plate 2 and the axis of the piston 3 (the axis of the lower structure a). P is in a straight line and matches.

Now, in the example of mounting on the low floor bus shown in FIG. 6, only the main part of the changing behavior when the vehicle body 10 rolls around the rolling axis X directly below the floor wall 10A is shown in FIG. .
FIG. 3 illustrates an air spring A according to another embodiment having an elastic stopper 14 having a different structure, and is an air spring accompanying rolling related to the rolling axis X set on the center line Z of the vehicle body 10. The change in A is depicted as the movement of the piston 3 relative to the fixed upper plate 2.
The lower solid line of the diaphragm 1 and the piston 3 is in the standard state (free state), the solid line on the upper side of the point indicates the cushioned state (the vehicle body sinks), and the virtual line indicates the rebound state (the vehicle body is lifted). ing.

  In the standard state, the air spring A has the axis Y of the upper plate 2 and the axis P of the piston 3 on the same line. However, the air spring A is in a cushioned state where the piston 3 is raised relative to the upper plate 2 or in a rebound state where it is lowered. The axial centers Y and P are laterally separated and twisted. In the cushion state, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface of the elastic stopper 14 and the lower surface 2 a of the upper plate 2 are not parallel in a side view but have a relative angle difference and are also displaced in the horizontal direction.

  Therefore, in a state in which the elastic portion 17 and the upper plate 2 come into contact with each other as the cushion is further increased and the interval in the axis P direction is reduced by a predetermined amount, the upper plate 2 of the upper portion 2 from the upper left portion of the elastic portion 17 in FIG. The elastic stopper 14 is in contact with the lower surface 2a and is close to the upper bead portion 1A. Therefore, in this case, the elastic stopper 14 having a shape obtained by cutting the right side portion of the elastic portion 17 in FIG. 3 is effective in order to obtain an elastic action in the vertical direction while avoiding contact with the upper bead portion 1A.

  Further, in the air spring A according to the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the fixing bolt 4 and the air passage tube 19 are arranged in the front-rear direction in FIG. 5 of the upper plate 2 and are shown in FIG. In this way, when the cushion is greatly cushioned, the fixing bolt 4 and the air passage tube 19 are set so as not to come into contact with the elastic portion 17 that also moves in the left-right direction.

[ Reference embodiment ]
As shown in FIG. 7, the rotation prevention mechanism r has a configuration in which a headed pin 20 penetratingly fixed to the base plate 16 from below and a hole 18 formed in the mounting plate 9 are fitted. Conceivable. In this structure, although it is covered with the elastic part 17, it is necessary to integrate the headed pin 20 with the base plate 16 without a gap from the viewpoint of airtightness. Further, since the headed pin 20 is a separate member from the base plate 16, the number of parts increases accordingly.
The air spring A shown in FIG. 7 is the same as the air spring A shown in FIG. 1 except that the length of the upper pipe member 8 and the anti-rotation mechanism r differ, The explanation is basically omitted.

On the other hand, in the anti-rotation mechanism r shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, since the convex portion 16A is formed by partially plastically deforming the base plate 16, there is no problem of airtightness and the number of parts is also increased. There is an advantage that it does not increase.
Further, the rotation prevention mechanism r may have a configuration in which the concave portion u is provided on the base plate 16 and the convex portion t is provided on the mounting plate 9 to be fitted to each other. In addition to the hole, the recess u may be a hole that does not penetrate or a literally recessed portion, or a recess that is configured so that both sides in the circumferential direction are bank-filled.

  An elastic stopper 14 is provided on the lower surface 2a side of the upper plate 2, and the piston 3 such as the mounting plate 9 or the like as the interval between the piston 3 and the large-diameter plate member 2 in the axial center P direction is reduced by a predetermined amount. An air spring may be used that adopts a configuration in which the elastic portion 17 can be brought into contact with a member on the piston 3 side. In this case, the detent mechanism r is configured to prevent relative rotation between the upper plate 2 or a member on the upper plate 2 and the base plate 16.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cylindrical rubber film 1C Reversed cylinder part 2 Large diameter plate-shaped member 3 Piston 3c Circumferential surface 9 Support part 14 Elastic stopper 15 One attachment means 16 Base plate 17 Elastic part P Shaft center r Detent mechanism t Convex part u Concave part

Claims (3)

A cylindrical rubber film, a large-diameter plate-like member that is airtightly joined to one end portion in the axial direction of the cylindrical rubber film, and a piston that is airtightly joined to the other end portion in the axial direction of the cylindrical rubber film, An air spring formed on the piston with a circumferential surface capable of rolling and guiding an inverted tube portion formed by folding the other end side with elastic deformation of the cylindrical rubber film,
Either one of the piston and the large-diameter plate member is provided with an elastic stopper that comes into contact with the other as the axial distance between the piston and the large-diameter plate member is reduced by a predetermined amount. ,
The elastic stopper has a base plate attached to the support portion fixed to the one by one attachment means, and an elastic portion integrated with the base plate,
Due to the one mounting means, the protrusion is formed by locally plastically deforming one of the support portion and the base plate, and the recess formed on the other is fitted. A detent mechanism configured to prevent relative rotation between the supporting portion and the base plate is configured;
An air spring in which a back side of the convex portion or the concave portion formed on the base plate is covered with the elastic portion .
  2. The air spring according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is fixed to the piston, and the attachment means is constituted by a screw provided in a direction along the axis.   The air spring according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the concave portion is formed in the support portion, and the convex portion is formed in the base plate.

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