JPH04266632A - Air spring provided with height measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the influence of a bogie by providing a mechanism for measuring the distance between inner and outer cylinders in the diaphragm of an air spring, and controlling the spring height according to the measurement value, in an air spring in rolling stock. CONSTITUTION:In the center of an air spring 1, a height measuring mechanism 5 by ultrasonic waves is disposed between an outer cylinder 2 and an inner cylinder 3. The height measuring mechanism 5 is formed by disposing an operation transfer 6 on the inner cylinder 3, providing a measuring bar 8 supported by a linear bearing 7 thereon, and bringing a contactor 9 on the bar top end into contact with a measuring surface 10 on the lower surface of the outer cylinder. On the basis of the detected distance between the inner and outer cylinders, a regulating valve not shown is operated to regulate the height of the air spring 1.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air spring that includes a height measuring mechanism within the air spring and does not require a separate height measuring device.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Air springs have a spring action due to the compressibility of the air inside them, and at the same time have a vibration damping action, and are used as suspension systems and vibration isolators for vehicles such as railway cars and automobiles.

Air springs need to be controlled in height by supplying and exhausting air, and this is generally done by installing a height measuring device between two members that produce relative displacement via the air spring. However, since air springs move in three dimensions, it is difficult to easily measure only the height.
Complex link mechanisms, spherical joints, etc. are used.

For example, in a bogie for a railway vehicle, rotational movement (bogie) occurs between the car body and the bogie, and the height measuring mechanism must be installed at a position away from the center of rotation due to the structure of the bogie. An example is shown in FIG.

That is, a lever 26 is connected between a rotary encoder 25 and a connecting rod 24 rotatably attached to a side beam 22 of a truck by a hinge with a rubber bush or a spherical bearing.
and the rotary encoder 25 is brought into contact with the bottom surface of the vehicle body 23.

FIG. 6 shows the movement of the connecting rod 24 of the rotary encoder due to the relative movement between the truck and the vehicle body. As shown in the figure, the connecting rod 24 moves in a complicated manner due to vertical displacement and bogie angle. Moreover, the movement at this time is performed in a wide space.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As mentioned above, the conventional height measuring device is provided as a separate device at a location away from the air spring, and is equipped with a hinge with a rubber bush.
It has a complex structure using spherical bearings, etc., and requires a large amount of space. In addition, in the case of a railway vehicle, measurement at a location away from the air springs is likely to be affected by bogeys. The present invention provides an air spring with a height measuring mechanism installed therein in order to eliminate the drawbacks of such conventional devices.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the air spring of the present invention is provided with a measuring mechanism that measures and calculates the distance between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder on the diaphragm, and measures the distance determined by calculation. Configure the value to be used for spring height control. The measuring mechanism may be a contact type using mechanical means, or a non-contact type using electrical means, ultrasonic means, or optical means.

[0009]

[Operation] The spring height can be detected based on the measurement value constantly measured by the measurement mechanism built into the air spring.
The height of the air spring is controlled by operating the height adjustment valve based on this detection signal. In addition, if the measurement value from the measurement mechanism is configured to be input to various existing air spring electronic control devices, the detection signal from the measurement mechanism will be sent to the controller, where it will be processed and output as a control signal. As a result, the air supply valve and exhaust valve to the air spring are opened and closed, and the height of the air spring is controlled.

0010

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a diaphragm air spring incorporating a height measuring mechanism 5 according to the invention. The height measuring mechanism 5 is installed between the outer cylinder 2 and the inner cylinder 3 at the center of the air spring 1. 4 is a diaphragm. The height measurement mechanism 5 is shown in Figure 2.
A mechanical contact method as shown in FIG. 3, a non-contact method using ultrasonic waves as shown in FIG. 3, or a laser as shown in FIG. 4 are used.

The contact type height measuring mechanism 5 shown in FIG. 2 has a magnescale or actuating transformer 6 installed on the inner cylinder 3, and a measuring rod 8 supported by a linear bearing 7 on top of the magnescale or actuating transformer 6. The child 9 is brought into contact with a measurement surface 10 provided on the lower surface of the outer cylinder 2. According to this measurement mechanism, the inner cylinder 3 and the outer cylinder 2
Even if the distance between them changes, the measuring rod 8 follows and moves up and down due to the action of the spring in the Magnescale or the differential transformer 6.
The contactor 9 always comes into contact with the measurement surface 10, and also comes into contact with the measuring surface 10 in the same way even when the outer cylinder 2 is tilted.
The distance between them is measured accurately. Height control is performed by operating a height adjustment valve based on the detected measurement value or by outputting a detection signal to the air spring electronic control device.

In the height measuring mechanism 5 using the ultrasonic probe 11 shown in FIG. 3, the ultrasonic probe 11 is disposed on the inner tube 3 so as to face the measurement surface 10 of the outer tube 2. And this ultrasonic probe 1
1, an ultrasonic wave is sent through a transmission signal generator 12, a pulse modulator 13, and a transmission amplifier 14, and the reflected wave from the measurement surface 10 is transmitted through an amplifier 15 and a distance calculator 16 to an air spring electronic control device. The height is controlled by inputting it to a controller 17 (not shown). Note that the distance calculator 16 uses an ultrasonic type,
That is, the distance is calculated by measuring distance=measurement time×sound speed/2.

The laser height measuring mechanism 5 shown in FIG.
A laser irradiated from a light source 18 provided on the inner tube 3 is received by the measurement surface 10 of the outer tube 2, and the reflected light is received by a CCD camera 19 provided on the inner tube 3.
1 to the controller 1 of the air spring electronic control device (drawing omitted)
7 to perform height control.

[0014]

[Effects of the Invention] Since the air spring according to the present invention is provided with a height measuring mechanism inside, there is no need to separately install a height measuring device, and the air spring can be installed compactly. Furthermore, since the height measurement is performed within the air spring, it is not affected by bogies in the railway vehicle, and when combined with an air spring control device, highly accurate and accurate control can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a diaphragm air spring incorporating a height control mechanism according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a contact-type height measuring mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a non-contact height measuring mechanism using ultrasonic waves according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a non-contact height measuring mechanism using a laser according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of main parts of a railway bogie showing a state in which a height meter using a conventional rotary encoder is installed.

6 is an explanatory diagram showing the movement of a connecting rod in the rotary encoder of FIG. 5. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Air spring 2 Outer cylinder 3 Inner cylinder 4 Diaphragm 5 Height measuring device 6 Magnescale or differential transformer 7 Linear bearing 8 Measuring rod 9 Contactor 10 Measuring surface 11 Ultrasonic measuring element 12 Transmission signal generator 13 Pulse modulator 14 Transmission amplifier 15 Amplifier 16 Distance calculator 17 Controller 18 Light source 19 CCD camera 20 Image processor 21 Arithmetic unit 22 Side beam 23 Vehicle body 24 Connecting rod 25 Rotary encoder 26 Lever

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] Within the diaphragm of the air spring,
An air spring with a built-in height measuring device that is equipped with a measuring mechanism that measures and calculates the distance between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, and uses the calculated measured value for spring height control.